


Chances Are

by kimurasato



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-10 11:30:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 58
Words: 152,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5584171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimurasato/pseuds/kimurasato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny is a new teacher in town, and things may not be looking as up as he hoped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Danny sat in the teacher's lounge with a newspaper laid out before in on the table. He arrived in town a week ago, and today was his first day on the job. Currently, he lived in a cheap little place about two bus rides away from the school, and it still required walking to the first bus stop from his apartment. He hoped to find something closer, and _way_ nicer, but so far, his options seemed rather limited. Some of the ads looked questionable, and one stated "HOT GIRLS ONLY." Danny drew a big red X over the ad with a disgusted wrinkling of his nose.

"I don't know why I always have to teach them sex ed."

Danny lifted his head when he heard another teacher entering the lounge. It was lunch time now, and his own lunch sat half eaten beside his newspaper. At this point, he was ready to call the meal abandoned, his appetite rather non existence while he put all of his attention into looking for a new apartment.

"That's what happens when you teach health."

The other teacher patted his friend on the shoulder, and Danny paled a few shades when he saw the two men who entered the room. He truly did have the worst luck in the world. It was a miracle, in his mind, that his powers didn't act up like when he was fourteen and send him straight through his chair, and halfway through the floor. He gulped and waited for the two jocks to look his way and notice who exactly he was. Which didn't take long as a second later both men's gazes landed on him, sitting alone at one of the two round tables in the lounge. He tensed, waiting for the bullying to start.

"I heard they hired a new teacher," Kwan said, stepping toward the table with a friendly smile. "What was it this time? English?"

Dash punched his friend, hard from the way Kwan gasped, on the shoulder. "That's Fenton!" His mouth hung open, and Danny had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the comical expression.

Danny knew he had changed quite a bit since he last saw the jocks at high school graduation. Eleven years did that. He had filled out, no longer the lanky limbed teenager. In college, he took up weight lifting and even went to some various fight classes when time allowed. Fighting ghosts had, thankfully, taken a back sit with fewer ghosts stirring up trouble, but he didn't want to fall out of shape in case something dangerous decided to rear its ugly head.

"Hey, Kwan," Danny greeted with a cheerful grin which faltered as he glanced toward the other man, "Dash. Didn't know you worked here." If he had, he might not have eagerly accepted the position. Of the job offers he received, this school promised the best pay and had the best facilities. It was like his dream job. If Dash and Kwan didn't ruin it.

"This is pretty crazy." Kwan twisted around one of the chairs and sat down on it backwards, leaning folded arms over the back. "Can you believe it?" He glanced up at his friend.

Dash frowned, less enthusiastic about this sudden meeting. "Yeah," he replied in a dry tone, "who would have imagined the three of us all working at the same school?" He took up the chair next to Kwan, though he didn't seem happy about sharing a table with the man he used to bully in high school. Danny wasn't too thrilled about it either.

"What are you looking at?" Kwan tilted his chair forward as he tried to get a look at the newspaper. His eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Are those apartment ads?"

"Uh, yeah." Danny hastily folded up the newspaper then shoved it back in his bag. "I was hoping to find a better place, but I can't really afford anything on my own." He sighed, not liking the prospect of random roommates. Who knew what he could end up with? That one episode of an old television show came to mind. In it, the man got stuck with a new, and slightly crazy, roommate. Getting rid of the roommate hadn't been easy on the man, and Danny didn't want a similar experience in real life.

"Hey-"

"Kwan, no," Dash said firmly with a stern stare.

Kwan frowned at his friend. But he plastered a smile back on his face when he turned back to Danny. "Why don't you move in with us?"

"Kwan!" Dash's face was as red as a tomato and his eyes flashed with rage, but Kwan merely laughed off his friend's anger.

"Oh, come on, Dash. We've been looking for a new roommate ever since Brad ran off to Vegas to get married." Kwan glared pointedly. "You've rejected everyone that's come to see the apartment. At least we know Danny isn't some psycho axe murderer."

Dash gritted his teeth as he leaned back in his chair with his arms folded, his fingers digging into his biceps. "Maybe. But he was always a bit weird."

"He also happens to be sitting right here and can hear everything you say about him," Danny pointed out dryly, scowling across the table at Dash.

"Then it's decided!" Kwan slapped a hand on the table, smiling despite the glares directed at him. "Danny will come live with us." The announcement earned a groan from Dash.

"Do I even get to see the place before making a decision?" With his brow knitted, Danny felt uneasy about the idea of sharing an apartment with the two jocks, especially when one of them was responsible for tormenting him during their high school days.

"You're going to love it. Trust me. You won't find a better place. And you already know us," Kwan gestured to himself and Dash. "So it's not like you're ending up with some weirdo stranger."

Danny almost hated to admit it, but being stuck with Dash and Kwan sounded like the lesser of two evils. He sighed out heavily. "I suppose we could give it a trial period. Live together for a month and see how it goes?" And like that, it was decided, and Danny wondered if he just made the biggest mistake in his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dash still has his doubts about this whole Fenton moving into their apartment thing

Dash frowned, watching Kwan wipe down their dining table. "He's coming to stay for a month. You don't need to clean the whole place just for him," he called from where he sat on the couch in the living area of the apartment. He still hated the idea of Fenton coming to live with them, but there was no talking Kwan out of this plan.

"I don't want him coming here and seeing we're complete slobs." Kwan finished with the table and looked around the apartment, trying to find anything else that needed cleaning or straightening before Fenton showed up at their door.

"We're not _complete_ slobs." Dash rolled his eyes as he flipped his book shut. After placing the book on the side table, he stood and stretched. "I think we keep the place relatively tidy." He snorted a laugh. "Better than how my room was before college." It was a miracle he could find anything in his room with how much junk he had lying around and clothes thrown all over the place. His desk barely had enough clear space to allow him to do his homework there.

Kwan was basically the complete opposite of him. His friend liked to keep everything neat, and he never had trouble finding something because of misplacing it among the mess in his room. When they went to college together, Dash thought rooming with his best friend was a great idea. What could possibly go wrong? He laughed now, remembering how they clashed when stuck sharing a small dorm. Living together took time to get used to, but they figured it out by their second year.

"Is it really such a bad thing? To have Danny move in with us?" Kwan folded up the towel then dropped it on the kitchen counter. "He probably hasn't been in town for very long so he doesn't really know anyone. It's gotta be nice for him to have some familiar faces around."

"I doubt our faces are the ones he wants to see." Dash walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a cold beer. "Think about it. We weren't exactly all that great to him. Well, not so much you. But he _has_ to hate me." He twisted the cap off the bottle. "He'd probably be happier if I wasn't in the picture."

Kwan shook his head. "I can't imagine Danny being the type to hate you forever because of that. Yeah, you did some awful things to him, but you've changed a lot since then. Just show him the new, mature you."

"Easy for you. He has no reason to hate you." Dash walked back to the couch. "You might have done some bully stuff, but you were still basically nice to everyone. I almost feel like I need to sleep with one eye open with him in the apartment just in case he decides to enact some revenge plan."

"He isn't going to try to get revenge." When someone knocked, Kwan walked over to answer it while Dash took another, long, gulp of his beer. He didn't feel prepared at all for living with Fenton. "Danny!" Kwan greeted cheerily once he opened the door. "Come in!"

"Wow," Danny breathed when he stepped into the apartment and took a look around the open room. "How did you ever find a place like this?"

"Having roommates to split rent helps." Kwan chuckled as he closed the door. "Though it has been a bit strained with just the two of us. That's why we've been looking for a new roommate."

Dash caught Fenton glancing his way with a nervous look in his blue eyes. "I guess we should show you to your room so you can-" He frowned slightly. "Is that all you have?" Fenton was loaded with only three large duffle bags.

Fenton shook himself. "Ah, no. I have some other stuff, but since I was hoping to move out of that crummy apartment I was in, I decided not to bother taking all that much out of storage after shipping stuff here from Amity Park."

Dash nodded, seeing the sense in that. Why get everything unpacked if he planned on moving as soon as possible? "Well, your room is this way." He led the way to the relatively empty bedroom. "Obviously, you can do what you like with the room. I," he rubbed at his chin, "might suggest a new mattress though. That thing," he waved to the bed left behind by their previous roommate, "was already pretty much garbage when Brad dragged it in here."

Fenton's nose wrinkled slightly when he looked at the bed. "So I'm definitely bringing my bed." He walked farther into the room, dropping his bags near the closet door so he didn't have to keep lugging them around. "This place makes my room look like a breadbox. I'm starting to wonder how I managed to survive in such a cramped place. Or even have room for anything."

The size of the bedrooms was definitely one of the reasons Dash and Kwan liked this apartment out of all the ones they looked at when they first arrived in town. With all their furniture, a cramped apartment simply wouldn't do. The rent cost was, however, a problem. They could manage it, with some sacrifices, but not for too long without a third roommate, with an income to contribute to the rent. At least they could be sure Fenton wasn't some bum who wouldn't be able to keep up with rent.

"If you need any help with moving stuff in, we can help," Kwan offered, and Dash had to roll his eyes. Of course Kwan wouldn't hesitate to lend a helping hand.

"Uh, yeah," Dash agreed when Kwan nudged him with an elbow. "It'll go faster with three of us moving stuff." He would have laughed, thinking about Fenton moving a bunch of heavy furniture and boxes, but Fenton had bulked up over the years since high school. Dash shook his head. The transformation was almost unbelievable. If he had looked like this in high school, Fenton would have easily gotten into the A List, especially if he had joined the football team.

"Sure!" Fenton relaxed, the tension melting out of his shoulders. Perhaps he realized the two former bullies weren't about to beat him up. "I'll probably leave most of my stuff in storage. Just take the important stuff that I'll need. So it might not be a whole lot."

Fenton was thinking in temporary terms again. Kwan obviously hoped this was a sure thing, like after a month of living together the three would be best friends and nothing would come between them. He was sometimes too eager to make friends and do everything to please them to keep them as a friend. Fenton seemed to share Dash's thinking that this may not be a permanent living arrangement, and in a month, Fenton may choose to move out and find a better place for him. Dash could respect his way of thinking.

"Well, it's a Saturday night," Kwan announced with a clap of his hands. "What say we go out for some drinks to celebrate Danny's moving in?"

Dash caught himself before pointing out that Fenton staying past a month wasn't set in stone. "Sure," he agreed with a half hearted shrug. Their nights of going out for drinks were few and far between ever since they became teachers, and he decided not to pass up the excuse for a night out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny has been living with them for a week, and the arrangement hasn't been perfect, but Kwan hopes they can manage to improve things for everyone's sake.

"I'm heading to the store," Kwan announced as he grabbed the grocery list from where it sat next to the refrigerator. "Do either of you want to come with me?" He turned to the living area where his roommates sat.

A week already passed since Danny moved in with them. Things weren't... magically perfect with them, as was to be expected. They were older and more mature than their high school days, but Dash and Danny still had some tension between the two of them. They would all need some time to settle into a groove of a comfortable living arrangement.

After the first night of going out for drinks, Danny kept mostly to himself, setting up his room with the bare minimum of what he needed. Kwan glanced into the room and frowned at the stark white walls and lack of anything personal displayed anywhere. He wasn't trying to snoop! He wanted to make sure Danny was comfortable, but he guessed Danny didn't want to put out a lot of stuff if he thought he might have to pack up again if things didn't work out.

The bathroom was still a source of arguments. There was only one bathroom for the three of them, and more than once over the week Dash and Danny butted heads over who would get to use it when they both decided they wanted to take a shower at the same time. It usually dissolved into a rock-paper-scissors contest with each one demanding a redo after losing.

Kwan could only sigh and shake his head at that point because neither of them would listen to him if he tried to intervene. But he worried it would only get worse down the line if the two of them couldn't figure out how to live together. Even worse would be if Dash and Danny let things spill over into work and bickered at school, in front of students and other staff members. Kwan wanted to do something, but the other two men were rather stubborn.

Danny looked up from his book when he heard the inquiry. "I'll go with you." He closed the book and set it down on the table in front of the couch.

Dash grunted a response, which Kwan recognized as he was too busy to do anything at the moment. His full concentration was on the stack of papers in front of him as he sat on the edge of the couch, leaning over the table and scribbling marks in red all over the paper he was reviewing. Occasionally, he would shout out in frustration, completely baffled by how his students failed to get such a simple question correct.

Danny stared at the blond man, his brow furrowed slightly as he stood from the couch. The two sat there in relative silence but on opposite sides, leaving a wide space in between them, for most of the day. After a moment, he shrugged then walked around the couch to join Kwan heading to the door of the apartment. They grabbed their coats, pulling them on as they stepped out into the hall. It was mid October, and though they hadn't entered into freezing temperatures, the air still had a bit of a chilly nip to it. The dampness in the air only helped to make it feel colder.

"How are you liking it here?" Kwan questioned as he locked the apartment door.

"Well, it's pretty nice." Danny shrugged, stuffing his hands onto the pockets of his coat. "Your apartment is definitely far better than where I was living before." They walked down the hall then headed to the ground floor. His mouth pursed slightly as he thought about things. "It's not like I'm trying to make things bad as an excuse to move out, but I guess Dash and I are just going to need time to figure out how to live together without making things hard on you."

Kwan laughed with a shake of his head. "It's not really hard on me. I'm just worried that this whole thing is going to end up not working out. Then Dash and I are stuck looking for another new roommate, and you're stuck looking for a new apartment. It would just be best for all of us if this could work out."

"I promise I'm trying." Danny held the door of the building open for Kwan. "It's just - This is still so weird for me. Dash used to make life miserable for me in high school. Now I'm living with him, and I have to figure out how to do that without making him want to punch me or worse." He sighed as they walked down the street to the little grocery store a few blocks away from their apartment building. "Maybe it would be easier for everyone if I just hole myself up in my room when we're all there together."

"That's not an answer." Kwan shook his head. "We need to figure out how to live together. You holing yourself up in your room doesn't achieve that."

"Yeah, but can you see me and Dash getting along within a month?"

Kwan sighed, unable to think of a positive response to the question. They would probably need longer than a month for the two of them to get along. They continued walking in silence until they reached the grocery store. After they stepped through the sliding doors, they both reached to grab a basket sitting stacked right inside the store. They paused and stared at each other.

"I guess I'm just used to doing my own shopping." Danny laughed awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Kwan glanced at the list, which wasn't too long. "We could split up," he suggested. "It'll make things go faster. We'll meet back at the checkout."

"Sure," Danny agreed.

Kwan tore the list in half and handed one half to Danny. Then they each took a basket and went their separate ways to pick up the groceries on their half of the list. Between him and Dash, Kwan was the one who did most of the shopping, though Dash would join him sometimes, when he wasn't stuck grading papers. He kept the list divided up in sections based on where they were located in the store. That way, he could check things off the list as he traveled from one side of the grocery store the other side then end up at the checkout.

When he finished collecting what was on his half of the list, Kwan waited at the checkout for Danny. His roommate arrived several minutes later, and Kwan noticed some items not on the list included in his basket. He lifted an eyebrow, and Danny shrugged.

"I felt like doing a little baking," Danny admitted as they joined a line. When their turn came, they unloaded the baskets onto conveyor belt and waited for the cashier to scan their items.

"Mr. Long!" greeted the young woman ringing up their groceries. Kwan recognized her from his class. She was a senior and had top marks in his class. She smiled brightly when she greeted him.

"Hello, Melinda," Kwan said with a polite smile.

Melinda's expression turned to surprised when she noticed Danny behind Kwan. "Are you two together?" Then her bronze cheeks darkened. "I mean, like the same bill? Or am I ringing you up separately?"

"I could pay for my half," Danny offered.

Kwan shook his head. "One bill is fine." He added to Danny, "You can pay me back later if you really want."

Danny nodded as Melinda, cheeks dark with a blush, continued to scan the items. After paying for the groceries, Kwan thanked Melinda. Then he and Danny gathered up the bags, and they left the grocery store.

They were halfway back to their apartment when Kwan spoke. "What were you planning to bake?"

"Well," Danny hefted the bags in his hands, "I thought since it's October now, some pumpkin bread would be good."

Kwan grinned. "I hope you plan on sharing." Good food was always one way to put Dash in a good mood. If Danny shared, perhaps Dash would come around and stop being a stubborn mule about Danny living with them.

"Of course!" Danny chuckled.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kwan stops by to ask a question, but Danny has other plans.

"Well, I think you have enough material here to write that essay," Danny told his student with a small but proud smile.

Charlotte chewed on her lower lip in uncertainty as she glanced over her notes. "Are you sure?" Her brow creased with worry. "Is my understanding of the symbolism good?"

"Trust me. I think your essay is going to be great," Danny assured her, but he could remember being as worried as Charlotte was when he was in high school. Even after he got up the courage to discuss things with his teachers about class work, he still felt a nervous gut wrenching fear of failing in his school work. His confidence often rose and dipped like going on a rollercoaster, but to his relief, he usually did better than he thought he did.

A knock against the doorframe of the class room interrupted their conversation. Danny turned his head, still feeling a jolt of surprise when Kwan peeked his head into the classroom. The other teacher smiled as he stepped through the doorway.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" Kwan asked with a wince.

"Ah, no, we were just finishing up," Danny answered. He gave his student a stern look when Charlotte opened her mouth like she might argue. "You have a great understanding of the book. I'm sure you'll have no problems once you get started writing that essay."

Charlotte frowned but gave in with a sigh. "Thanks for the help, Mr. Fenton." She gathered up her notes.

"Did you need something?" Danny asked Kwan as he, too, packed up his things to get ready to leave for the day.

Kwan shook his head. "It's nothing super important. I was thinking on what to make for dinner tonight, and well," he shrugged a shoulder, "I wanted to ask how spicy you like your food. I usually go pretty heavy handed, but if you prefer something less spicy, I can hold back on it."

"Oh, um-" Danny blinked, glancing toward his student when he heard a soft squeak.

Charlotte's face was bright red, and she kept her gaze lowered. "Excuse me!" She hugged her notebook to her chest as she hurried out of the classroom.

Danny arched an eyebrow, frowning as he watched her go. What was that all about? "Right. Um," he shook his head to recollect his thoughts, "I actually had plans for tonight." He winced. "I'm sorry. I forgot to mention it earlier."

"Oh!" Kwan's eyebrows lifted, and a look of surprise entered in his eyes. "I didn't-" His mouth curved into a smile. "Well, I'm glad you're settling in here well. I hope you enjoy your night out."

"I won't be out the whole night." Danny shouldered his bag as he walked over to where Kwan stood. "It's just dinner."

"But dinner could always lead to something more." Kwan nudged Danny in the ribs as they walked down the hall together.

"Ah," Danny nodded, "now I remember why I didn't say anything. I wanted to avoid being teased." He never thought about Kwan teasing him. Dash, however, would likely drive him mad with poking fun at him. Danny frowned, half feeling like they were back in high school with Dash bullying him. The imagery was only reinforced by the fact that they were in a high school at that moment.

"Sorry." Kwan struggled to hold back a smile. "I don't mean to tease. But I do hope you have a good time on your date."

Danny tugged awkwardly at his ear with a nervous laugh. "I'm hoping it goes well, but, uh, we'll see. I guess." It was a first date, which only made him more nervous about the whole thing. He spent the day trying _not_ to think about the date. It helped, a little, but now the date was on his mind again, bringing up all the nervous, jittery energy with it.

"Don't worry." Kwan slapped a hand to Danny's back with a confident smile. "I'm sure it'll go great."

Danny wished he had Kwan's confidence. When they returned to the apartment, he quickly hopped into the shower and got dressed for his date. He was out the door before Dash even managed to question him about where he was going. He was running late by the time he arrived at the restaurant where he agreed to meet his date.

"Sorry," Danny apologized after the waiter showed him to the table where his date waited. "I hope you haven't been here long."

She shook her head, her long black hair falling over one shoulder. "They haven't even brought my drink yet." She leaned her chin in her hand as her brown eyes flicked over Danny. "Your sister didn't mention how cute you were."

"I might start to wonder if my sister thought I was cute, in that way." Danny winced slightly. "So, um, Hayley, Jazz never told me what you did."

"Right now," Hayley sighed as she leaned back in her chair, "just working in a cubicle. Boring stuff like data entry. But I'm determined not to be stuck in this job for the rest of my life. I'm going to move up! I don't know how just yet, but I'm going to do it."

Danny chuckled. "I believe you will." With how confidently she spoke, it wasn't hard to imagine her working her way to the top.

She blinked then blushed lightly. "So Jazz told me you're a teacher. That must have some excitement in it."

Danny smiled. "Yeah, well, some days the students can get pretty rowdy. Being stuck sitting inside listening to lectures all day can leave a person restless, especially at their age when they have all that energy." Sometimes, it felt like only yesterday when he was just like his students, growing easily bored in classes and anxiously counting down the seconds until the final bell. "But there are some good days where the students eagerly engage in discussions."

The waiter returned then with Hayley's drink. After setting it down, he took out a pad and pen. "Have you decided on what you'd like?"

"Uh, maybe a few more minutes," Danny answered as he hadn't even looked over the menu yet. "But I'd some water."

The waiter nodded. "Yes, sir." He walked away to get the water and check on his other tables.

"I guess we should figure out what we want to order." Danny picked up his menu to look over his options.

By the time the waiter returned to drop off his water, they had both decided on what they wanted to order. The waiter jotted it down on his pad before heading to the kitchen. Danny took a sip of water, glancing over at Hayley as his nervousness crept up on him after the break in their conversation. Things seemed like they were flowing smoothly, but now he fumbled for how to pick up the conversation again.

"Jazz mentioned you only recently moved here," Hayley said. "I guess that's why she didn't try to hook us up before now."

Danny bobbed his head. "Yeah, I had a good offer to take a job teaching here. It pays a bit better, and the school is pretty nice." He shrugged a little. "And it was nice to have a change of scenery. I've spent nearly my whole life in Amity Park, and I like it there. But, you know, sometimes you just want to travel to see other places before you die."

Hayley nodded. "I can totally understand that. I liked where I grew up, and I go back to visit for Christmas, but I just couldn't spend all my life in a small town."

The waiter dropped off their food with a pleasant, "Enjoy," before he left them alone again. Despite his nervousness, Danny thought he date went well. He didn't have any embarrassing mishaps, and the conversation had few awkward pauses after the first one. He learned in high school Hayley was part of the debate team and liked swimming. When she was around five, she wanted to be ballerina, and sometimes, she liked to put on some old videos and dance along to them. She was kind and smart, and Danny enjoyed talking with her. When their date came to an end, Hayley leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling back with a light blush. Danny's cheeks warmed in response as he stuttered out, "Good night." They stood awkwardly outside the restaurant for a few minutes before they parted ways to return to their apartments.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes grading his students' papers feels like it takes an eternity.

Dash rubbed at his face, ready for a drink after grading his students' papers. Honestly, he worried about his teaching abilities when he kept finding incorrect answers to what he thought were easy questions. Leaning back on the couch, he glanced at the clock on the box under the television. It was only ten minutes to ten, but he felt exhausted, like he stayed up half the night to finish with the grading. Kwan decided to call it an early night, retiring to his room about an hour ago. Though if Dash knew his friend like he did, Kwan probably stayed up a bit longer to work on some project of his before finally crawling into bed.

When he heard the door opening, Dash snapped his gaze toward it, watching as Fenton slipped into the apartment like he was sneaking in after curfew. Dash held back a snort of laughter at the imagery. "You know," he said, and had to laugh when Fenton jumped, "you don't have to sneak around. We're not going to yell at you for coming home late."

"Yeah, I know." Fenton bowed his head, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I wasn't sure if you and Kwan would still be up or not, so I didn't want to make a lot of noise and possibly wake you up."

"I still had grading to do." Dash shrugged, but he almost hated that considerate nature Fenton had. How was he supposed to hate someone who always considered his feelings and stuff? He guessed he didn't actually hate Fenton, but it was hard to shift his way of thinking about someone. "And Kwan already went to bed, but I don't think he'd get mad if you made some noise coming in late."

"True." Fenton cracked a small smile as he walked over to the couch. "Has he always been like that? You know, super nice and understanding? I mean, I always thought he was nice to everyone. But sometimes, doesn't it feel like he's too nice?" He lifted an eyebrow in question.

"I don't think most people would complain about someone being too nice."

"I'm not complaining." Fenton threw up his hands, almost like he was ready to protect himself from an attack. "I just-" He shrugged. "With all the other jocks around, it was always puzzling how he ended up being as nice as he is."

Dash narrowed his eyes. "And what are you trying to say about me?"

Fenton's hands shot up again as panic flashed in his eyes. "No, no, I didn't-" Then, shaking his head, he dropped onto the couch with a sigh. "You can't really expect me to call you a nice guy after the way you treated me in high school." He shot a pointed look at Dash. "And that would only be my prospective of you. I'm sure you're nice to Kwan, and he thinks you're a great guy."

Dash snorted. "I get what you're saying." Naturally, Fenton would have a poor opinion of him. Dash never did anything to give Fenton reason to think otherwise. The corner of his mouth curled upward as he leaned toward his fellow teacher. "So I hear you had a date tonight." When redness exploded across Fenton's face, Dash couldn't hold back a barking laughter.

"So Kwan told you about that, huh?" Fenton tugged at his ear, refusing to look over at the former jock.

"Kwan tends to share everything with me. You know, best friends and all. Though," Dash hunched up one shoulder, "he probably wouldn't have mentioned anything if he thought you wanted it kept a secret."

"It wasn't a secret." Fenton frowned, leaning on the armrest of the couch. "I just didn't say anything because I didn't want you teasing me about it."

"Me? Tease you?" Dash grinned when Fenton rolled his eyes. "So was it with that Goth chick you were friends with?"

"Okay. First of all, her name is Sam." Fenton glared, his eyes narrowing darkly. "And no, I didn't go on a date with Sam. She's currently living in New York."

Dash's eyebrows rose a notch. "Okay. I get it. Not Sam. So who was it?"

"No one you know, probably." Fenton rested his head in his hand. "Jazz has a friend from college living here, and she wanted to set us up. She thinks we'd be a good couple."

"And what do you think of her?"

"Well, she's nice. I wouldn't mind a second date." Fenton shrugged. "It's hard to tell on the first date if the person is The One. You know?"

"Yeah." Dash nodded with a frown. "They always say you'll know if the person is The One when you meet them, but I think that's kind of garbage. Sure. Sometimes, there's that instant connection, but sometimes you got to get to know the person first before realizing there's something there. And who even says there's just one?"

"Not a believer in soul mates?" Fenton lifted a quizzical eyebrow.

"I don't believe in just one soul mate and that's it for you," Dash corrected. "I don't even believe that soul mates have to necessarily refer to only romantic partners. Your best friend could be a soul mate." He shrugged, deciding to leave it there in case he was just making himself look stupid.

"Huh." Fenton bobbed his head, turning to stare at the wall in front of the couch. "I never considered that." He pondered it a while longer then his gaze drifted back to the man next to him. "So are you and Kwan dating?"

"Not recently." Dash's mouth tugged downward as he tried to remember the last time he went on a date with someone. "I think my last date was over the summer. She was a pretty nice woman, but she got a really good job offer down in California. I didn't want to be _that guy_. You know, the type that holds back the person their dating like my life and needs are more important than theirs. We kept in touch for the first few weeks after she left, but she met someone new. Long distance has its hassles, and I kind of didn't think it would work out. So we broke up on good terms." Dash shrugged. "I'm happy she's happy though."

"That's," Fenton stared, almost in shock, "pretty mature."

"Hey, I'm not completely that jerk from high school anymore." Dash reached over the gap between them to smack his hand lightly against Fenton's arm. "But, well," he shrugged, "since then, I haven't really been looking for someone to date."

"Ah, because I was going to say, that brunette at the bar," Fenton grinned, "was way into you."

Dash felt heat rising to his cheeks. It was odd, talking to Fenton about dating, but they were talking. It was a step forward from butting heads over random little nothings. Kwan, if he was still up and eavesdropping, would probably be quietly celebrating in his room.

"Possibly," Dash said, scratching at his shoulder. Then he frowned and snapped a glare at Fenton. "This doesn't make us best friends, just so you know. You're nowhere near Kwan's level. He's like up here." Dash lifted a hand to about eye level. "While you're down here." He placed his other hand just above his lap.

"Let me start by saying, I would never, in a million years, try to replace the friendship you have with Kwan. That being said, I will admit that I wanted to be friends with you in high school." Fenton blushed lightly at the admission. "Okay. Some of it might have been about popularity through association, and getting to go to parties would have been cool. But I would have been happy just to have you say hi to me in the hall and not, you know, bully me."

"Yeah, well," Dash shrugged, "I had some issues to work through. Anger was probably a big one of those issues. You were just an easy target for me."

"Then let's just make this a fresh start. We didn't really know that much about each other in high school anyway."

Dash considered for a few minutes, but Fenton did have a point. They might have gone to high school with each other, but they knew basically nothing real about each other. "All right," he agreed. "Fresh start." He thrust his hand out toward Fenton, who shook it. "So are you going to make any more of that pumpkin bread?"

"You'll have to wait until we go to the store again." Fenton cracked a grin when Dash groaned in disappointment.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween is coming up, and there is a lot of planning to do.

"Ah, Jeremy, can we talk?" Kwan questioned his student before he could leave the room after class ended.

"Uh, sure." Jeremy gulped nervously. "I'll meet up with you at the lockers." He kissed his girlfriend on the cheek then walked over to the teacher's desk. "What's up, Coach?"

Kwan waited until they were alone in the room. "Your grades have taken a bit of a dip, and not just in my class. You know I can't keep you on the team if you don't maintain your grades."

Jeremy winced, lowering his dark eyes to the floor. "Yeah, I just," he shrugged a shoulder, "things have been crazy lately. You know?"

Kwan nodded. "I can remember how crazy it was having piles of homework to do and keeping up a social life all the while having to train for football. It's not easy balancing everything. If you need, I can arrange a tutor to help you in the areas where you're struggling. You might have to give up a few hours of your social time, but in the long run, it'll be for the best."

"Yeah, yeah." Jeremy waved it off like he heard the comment more than once in his life, and most likely, he had. "Good education means getting a good career and all that. I'm just having a hard time at the moment. I'll pick my grades up in no time though."

"There's nothing wrong with getting a tutor to help you out." Kwan leveled a stern stare on his student. "I don't want you thinking that it's a sign of weakness to ask for help."

"I know. I swear that's not why I'm saying no. If I can't get my grades back up on my own, I promise I'll look into getting a tutor."

Kwan pressed his mouth thin then sighed. Jeremy could be stubborn, like a certain friend Kwan knew, and sometimes repeated prodding only made things worse. "All right. I thought I should warn you before it's too late. I would hate to lose our best hitter."

Jeremy lifted his head, cracking a small grin. "Thanks for worrying, Coach." He paused before he turned to leave. "You seemed to be in a pretty good mood today." His eyebrow quirked upward in question.

"Did I?" Kwan blinked at his student. He couldn't deny being in a good mood, but he hadn't realized his students would pick up on it. Last night, he might have eavesdropped a little when he heard Dash and Danny talking. It wasn't a common practice for him and he knew he shouldn't, but he was curious and worried about how the conversation would go between the two men. Dash and Danny butted heads for over a week, though Dash seemed to warm up slightly after Danny baked some pumpkin bread for them. So when Kwan overheard the two men promising to make a fresh start, it felt like things were finally taking a step in the right direction. "I guess you could say something good happened recently."

"Did you win the lotto?" Jeremy teased.

Kwan chuckled. "That would be a miracle."

"What's a miracle?" Dash questioned, sticking his head into the classroom.

"If I won the lottery," Kwan answered with a small upward quirk of his mouth.

Dash whistled lowly then grinned. "If you did, maybe we could splurge on some season tickets to football games."

Kwan rolled his eyes. "Maybe a few games, but the rest would go toward securing our future." Their current situation was all right. They were surviving on what they made teaching and coaching comfortably, even better with Danny to shoulder some of the financial burden. But things could always change, and Kwan would rather have a safety net than wastefully spending a sudden windfall of fortune.

Jeremy's gaze snapped between the two teachers. "Uh, well, I should probably go. You know, studying to do and all that." He bobbed his head before he ducked out of the classroom.

Dash lifted an eyebrow as he watched the student leave. "What was that about?"

"His grades were slipping," Kwan explained, packing up his things. "I was offering to arrange tutoring."

"Ah." Dash nodded. "I would hate to see him benched. We need him batting if our baseball team is going to win the championship this year."

"I think we stand a chance," Kwan argued with a frown. "Maybe. Anyway, apparently I've been 'in a good mood' today according to him."

Dash's brow pinched in the middle. "Any reason for that?"

"I guess I'm just happy to hear you and Danny are making the effort to get along." Kwan grinned as he passed his friend on his way out of the classroom.

"Oh, I get it." Dash followed after him and quickly fell into step beside him. "You overheard us last night. You sneaky jerk."

"It wasn't planned." Kwan shrugged as they headed down the hall. "You two were talking. I didn't want to interrupt unless I heard furniture flying."

"Speaking of that los- Er, Fenton," Dash winced when Kwan shot a glare at him, "where is he?"

"He said he had something after school."

"Another date?" Dash cocked an eyebrow upward with surprise in his eyes.

Kwan shook his head. "I don't think so, but he didn't say what he was doing." Then he reached over and tapped his fist against his friend's arm. "The countdown's on. What are we doing this year for Halloween?"

Dash raked a hand through his blond hair. "I hadn't thought about it yet. But we're two guys from Amity Park. Halloween is totally our thing." He grinned in that cocky manner Kwan remembered from their football days when Dash was certain they would win the game.

"Three if you count Danny," Kwan reminded with a nudge of his elbow. "I guess we should probably mention it to him since he's living with us now." They hosted a Halloween party annually, inviting the school's staff and a few friends they had outside of work. "I mean, his parents were obsessed with ghosts."

"I guess they weren't too bad at the Halloween decorations," Dash admitted. "Well, Fenton needed some work. His decorations kind of sucked freshmen year."

Kwan tried to hold back but couldn't help the laugh that burst out of him. A few students stopped to stare at them, and Kwan could feel his cheeks heating up slightly. "They were pretty bad," he agreed, attempting to ignore the looks. "But I think he got better over the years. And anyway, having a third person will make setting everything up go faster."

Dash's mouth pursed just a touch. "Brad never did help us with putting up decorations."

"We should have realized then. He didn't even like Halloween. That's just crazy." Kwan shook his head, recalling how grumpy their old roommate would get when Halloween rolled around. During the party, Brad would hole up in his room then complain the next morning about how obnoxiously loud the party was. Brad wasn't all bad, but Kwan could never understand this hatred of Halloween. Brad would never explain it either. After some considering, Kwan asked, "Do you think Danny will want to come with us to the hospital?"

"I guess we'll just have to ask and find out." Dash shrugged. "But that reminds me. I still have a few teddy bears to finish up."

"Better hurry up on them or you'll leave some of the children disappointed."

Dash huffed, puffing out his cheeks. "It's not easy, you know!"

Kwan held up his hands, barely holding back a chuckle. "I'd offer to help, but you know I'm better with machinery than with a needle and thread." He thought for a moment. "Maybe you could see if Danny could lend a hand. He might be good at sewing."

A flush of a color crept across Dash's face. "I'd rather not."

"Oh, come on!" Kwan slapped a hand against his friend's arm. "What happened to a fresh start?"

"I agreed to a fresh start. I didn't agree to tell him every little detail about myself, and he certainly doesn't need to know about my sewing skills."

Kwan sighed, almost hanging his head. "There's nothing wrong with a guy knowing how to sew."

"I know," Dash grumbled, "but I still don't want to tell him."

Kwan rolled his eyes. Dash could be too stubborn sometimes. "Should we hit the store to see if we can find any inspiration for Halloween?"

"Think Fenton can get his hands on some of that ghost stuff?" Dash stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You know, that stuff ghosts are made up from?" He snapped his fingers. "What's it called?"

"Ectoplasm?" Kwan lifted an eyebrow as he cautiously eyed his friend. "Even if he could get some, do you really think that would be a good idea? We don't know what having that stuff around could do to us."

"Yeah," Dash agreed with a disappointed frown. "Think there's any way to make, like, cupcake icing have that same kind of coloring?"

Kwan shrugged. "We could experiment and see if we can get something close to looking like ectoplasm."

"Great! Let's hit the store!" Dash grinned as he grabbed Kwan's hand and dragged him to the school's exit.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After practice, a call interrupts Danny on his way home.

"All right. Good practice, everyone," Danny said, clapping his hands. "Larry, you shaved off a second on your time. Good job." Some of the other swim team members applauded or slapped their teammate on the back, while Larry blushed a little at the attention. "Oh, Hector, can I speak to you?"

Hector glanced at his friends as they headed to the locker room. "Uh, yeah." He turned nervously to his coach. "What's up?"

"I just want to check up with you," Danny explained, hoping to ease any anxiety in his student. "You've been doing well, but you keep slowing down when you get to the turns, which is making you lose too much time." He sighed when Hector averted his dark eyes. "I know it's difficult after an accident."

"Do you?" Hector snapped his gaze back to his coach, narrowing his eyes as his mouth pursed angrily.

"Yes, I do," Danny answered seriously. "I didn't start swimming until college, and when I got into it, the turns made me nervous because I had never done them before. My first time, I completely misjudged my timing and slammed my face into the wall." He rubbed a finger over the bridge of his nose. "I'm surprised it didn't break. But after that, I was pretty scared of having it happen again. I kept slowing whenever I got to the wall so I wouldn't make the mistake again. But eventually, I made myself face my fear, and I managed to overcome it and I got better as a swimmer. I can't force you to do the same, and I can't tell you how to do it. You have to make the decision to overcome this. And I really hope you do. You're an amazing swimmer."

Hector frowned for a minute then his posture relaxed. "You really think so, Coach?"

"Of course!" Danny grinned, dropping a hand onto his student's shoulder. "I think you can be one of the best on the team."

Hector's mouth slowly spread into a smile. "Thanks, Coach!"

"Now go hit the showers." Danny shooed his student toward the locker room.

After Hector disappeared through the locker room door, Danny went about his usual post-practice routine, checking for things left behind or any mess he could clean up. The janitors always ran through the pool area at night, but Danny didn't like leaving a huge mess behind for them.

When he was ready, Danny grabbed his things then quickly checked to be sure he was alone in a blind spot of the school before he transformed into his ghost form. By the time swim practice ended, the traffic could be fairly bad, almost bumper to bumper. Danny smiled as he took invisibly to the sky to fly back to the apartment. He let out a contented sigh as he soared of the city. It was, perhaps, his favorite thing about being half ghost. With everything that happened during high school, he sometimes didn't always get the chance to enjoy the simple things about his powers. Some new ghost, or other being, was always popping up to make trouble. Thankfully, things had settled down over the course of his high school career, giving him the chance to focus on studying so he could get into college. Now he only faced the occasional annoyance, or sometimes even stopping a crime he happened to spot.

His phone rang, and Danny paused, hovering in the air as he dug into his pocket to retrieve his phone. "Hello," he answered.

"So Hayley said the date went well," Jazz said, and Danny could almost hear a grin in her voice.

His cheeks heated up as Danny rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. "Ah, yeah, it went well. She's pretty nice."

"Well, I'm glad."

Danny frowned, staring flatly at the horizon. "You were worried I was going to mess things up, weren't you?"

"What? No!" Jazz snorted, but Danny knew his sister too well.

"Liar," Danny muttered in a teasing manner. "I know I get nervous on first dates."

"All dates," Jazz corrected.

Danny rolled his eyes. "I tried very hard not to make a complete fool of myself. And if she said the date went well, I'm going to assume I didn't mess up too badly."

"I think she really likes you. So are you going to ask her out on a second date?"

Danny chuckled. "Does everything about my love life need to go through you?"

"You can't blame me for being excited and curious. You're my brother! And she's a close friend."

"Yes, I plan to ask her out again. But now it's my turn to butt into your love life. Any guys I should know about?"

"Danny, you know I'm pretty much married to my work right now."

"Just don't overwork yourself," Danny advised in concern. He knew his sister had a habit of burying herself too far into her work that everything else faded out. "You'll tell if you meet someone though, right?"

"Yes, of course." Her eye roll was practically audible. "So how's your new living arrangement there? You haven't told me anything since you said you were moving."

"It," Danny scratched a hand through his hair, "wasn't easy at first. Adjusting and all that. But I think things are going to work out."

"Well, that's a relief! After the horror stories you told me about your last place."

"This new place is like getting into heaven. It's bigger and cleaner, and I'm not scared to touch the walls and doors for fear of mold growing on them or worrying that the water will come out brown." Danny wondered how the apartment building was even allowed to continue with the bad condition it was in, but he supposed sometimes people suffered through it because it was all they could afford.

"I want to think you're exaggerating, but something tells me you're being fairly honest in that opinion. So what are these new roommates like?"

"Well," Danny leisurely drifted in the direction of the apartment building, "it's Dash and Kwan."

"What?" Jazz gasped.

"Yeah, the whole idea was a bit weird." Danny winced. "If it was just Kwan, I wouldn't have worried about it. He's always been nice. But Dash isn't the same jerk jock he was in high school. We're trying to get along."

"Hm," Jazz hummed thoughtfully. "If Dash starts giving you any trouble, you better call me. I'll be out there in a second to punch him."

Danny cracked a small smile. "I don't think that will be necessary." But he appreciated his sister being concerned for his well being. "But I promise I'll call if needed. I-" He stopped midflight as a cold chill ran up his spine. "And I had hoped I wouldn't have to worry about ghosts here." He sighed, but he couldn't simply ignore a ghost that might be up to no good.

"I guess I should let you get to work then. Be careful, Danny."

"Aren't I always?" Danny chuckled, knowing his sister was rolling her eyes. "I'll be careful." He hung up the phone then stuffed it back into his pocket. Changing course, he headed toward where he felt the pull of his ghost sense.

His usual foes all stuck mostly to Amity Park, so Danny doubted any of them decided to follow him to a new city. He hadn't encountered many ghosts here yet, and the ones he did meet didn't seem like the troublemaker type. As he landed, he kept his guard up, not knowing what to expect. Judging from the sign on the building, Danny didn't think this was just another harmless ghost. But why would a ghost be at a bank? Ghosts typically had no use for money. Why steal money when they could simply steal whatever it was they wanted in the first place?

Danny pushed away the questions as he stepped through the doors to the bank. Remaining invisible, he surveyed the situation. Since it was late afternoon, the bank was relatively quiet with a few customers at the open windows and the rest waiting patiently in line for their turn. Danny took it as a good sign. Whatever it wanted here, the ghost, at least, wasn't terrorizing the people within the bank. He walked cautiously through the bank, keeping alert for the ghost he sensed. With nothing turning up out front, he headed into the bank's vault.

Once inside the vault, Danny found the ghost. It was a male, older than Danny, with a lanky build. His skin was pale green, not uncommon among ghosts. His long blond hair hung down in his face but didn't hide his sunken vibrant green eyes. Danny's brow knitted, noting something curious about the ghost's appearance. He encountered a great number of ghosts over the years, but he couldn't recall a time when he saw such dark veins spreading out from the ghost's eyes.

"I don't know what you need that money for," Danny said, turning visible and spooking the ghost who dropped several bundles of bills, "but I can't let you leave here with all that cash." If he was lucky, Danny could talk the ghost out of his thievery without things resorting to a fight.

"I need it!" The ghost sounded desperate as he grabbed more bundles to shove into the knapsack he held. The bag didn't look like it would hold a lot of money, but it was still more than Danny was willing to let it escape with.

"That money," Danny pointed at the cash in the ghost's hand, "belongs to hard working people. You can't just take it from them."

"You don't understand. I _need_ this money."

Danny sighed. He wanted to get back to the apartment and relax for the rest the night while he went over his notes for class tomorrow. Reaching behind him, he retrieved his Thermos. "Well, I can't really argue that point," he agreed, cautiously bringing forward the Thermos while the ghost huffed through flared nostrils. "Maybe you'd like to explain the situation to me. Why do you need this money?"

"That's none of your business!" The ghost fired an energy blast at him.

Danny threw up a shield, deflecting the attack away from him. Before the ghost could work up another attack, Danny popped the cap off the Thermos. He aimed it at the ghost and flipped it on, sucking the ghost inside. The ghost shouted in outrage, clawing at the air in a poor attempt to escape the pull. Once the ghost vanished into the Thermos, Danny slapped the cap back onto it with a sigh of relief. As much as he wanted answers about this whole encounter, his first thought was to get back to the apartment. A few hours locked up in the Thermos would give the ghost time to calm down, Danny hoped. Maybe after that, he would be able to have an actual conversation with the ghost. He replaced the money as best as he could, hoping no one in the bank would notice anyone unauthorized was ever in the vault. Grabbing the knapsack, he turned invisible then phased through the roof of the bank and headed for the apartment.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys share dinner together, and some plans are made.

"You're back early," Dash commented when Fenton entered the apartment. He knew it wasn't any of his business what Fenton did in his free time, and he would deny it if anyone tried to suggest he was actually curious. He was simply attempting to make conversation. That was what one did when trying to make friends with someone after all.

"It wasn't a date," Kwan muttered next to him, probably thinking his friend forgot that detail. Dash scowled at Kwan.

"And here I thought I was late," Fenton said, shrugging out of his coat. "I had practice." After hanging up his coat, he walked over to the couch where his fellow teachers sat. "Do your practices run longer?"

"Practice?" Dash's brow knitted, but his brain stalled, unable to connect Fenton to any sort of practice.

Fenton glanced between Dash and Kwan, who must have made the same confused expression because Fenton sighed. "I'm the coach of the swim team."

Dash shot a look to his friend. "We have a swim team?" he murmured.

"I guess." Kwan shrugged. "I never heard much about it."

Fenton dropped onto the end of the couch, sitting on the other side of Kwan. "I guess it hasn't done as well as football or baseball, but I'm hoping to help turn things around and produce a winning team. We've got some pretty strong swimmers."

Dash struggled to wrap his mind around the whole idea of Fenton being a coach. "I guess I never saw you as much of a sports guy."

"I've always loved sports. Football, mostly, I guess." Fenton shrugged. "Playing is a whole different story. But I got into swimming, so when I became a teacher, I thought I'd try coaching the swim team too."

"Maybe we should stop by to check out your practice sometime," Kwan suggested with a big grin.

Fenton shrugged. "If you want, I guess." He shifted on the couch, perhaps uncomfortable with the idea. "So what's with all this-" His gaze drifted to all the decorations on the coffee table then his eyes bugged out in an almost comical way. "Halloween!" He tilted his head back as he slapped a hand to his forehead. "I totally forgot that was coming up."

"How could you forget?" Dash snorted. He thought, with his family's ghost obsession, Fenton would be excited about everything to do with Halloween. Or maybe the Fenton family had some weird ghost hunting traditions for Halloween night.

"I guess with moving to this town and then the apartment problems, I got a bit distracted." Fenton rubbed at his eyes, like thinking about it all exhausted him. "I guess you have some plans for Halloween."

"We usually hold a party. Invite the other staff members and some friends," Kwan explained. "Uh, did you have anything planned? Because we'd love to have you come. I mean, this _is_ your apartment too."

"I guess I don't really have any plans," Fenton admitted. "I can help you set things up, if you need it."

"See?" Kwan turned to Dash with a smirk. "Already better than Brad."

Dash rolled his eyes then had to snort when he caught Fenton lifting a confused eyebrow. "Brad wasn't a bad roommate, but he hated Halloween and never helped out with the party."

"Well, you know, with parents like mine, it's hard not to like Halloween." Fenton shrugged, letting a smile slip onto his face. "I might have something to take care of, but I'll definitely be here to help out with stuff."

"We were talking about ideas for what to serve. We thought since, you know, ghosts are made up of ectoplasm," Kwan explained, and Dash thought he saw Fenton's face pale but only by a touch, "maybe we could make something to mimic it. Like ectoplasm colored icing for cupcakes."

Fenton relaxed, his shoulders drooping just enough to be noticed. "Oh, hm," he considered, pursing his mouth in thought. "Have you considered a drink? That might make more sense. Oh!" He snapped his fingers, struck by an idea. "We could even get some test tubes to serve it in."

"See?" Kwan smacked Dash on the arm. "I knew he'd have some great ideas."

"I guess that wasn't too bad an idea," Dash admitted begrudgingly. "We'll have to get some stuff to try out ideas and see what tastes best." He picked up the pad of paper on the table with their list of ideas for food and drinks to serve and add Fenton's suggestion to it. "Maybe we can hit the store after school on Friday to pick up some stuff." He leaned forward slightly to cast a glance at Fenton. "Unless you have practice that day."

"Nope." Fenton shook his head. "My Friday schedule is clear."

Kwan nudged him in the ribs, and Dash shot a glare at his friend. When Kwan nodded his head toward Fenton, Dash sighed, knowing exactly what his friend wanted. "So," he said, tapping his pen against the pad of paper, "we have this thing we do for Halloween at the hospital. If you want to join us." He shrugged, acting like the whole thing was no big deal.

Fenton blinked. "Um, sure. Is there anything I need to do for that?"

"Just have a costume ready." Kwan grinned widely, but Fenton seemed to have some reservations about being invited to go with them. "If you don't have one, we can help you think of something."

Fenton laughed. "I think I can manage getting a costume together. But thanks." He rubbed at his neck as he leaned against the armrest. "So what do you do at the hospital?"

"That would be a surprise," Dash said, pushing himself up from the couch. He most certainly wasn't embarrassed, thinking about how Fenton would react to how they spent their time at the hospital. He didn't want to make a big deal of it. "Anyway, it's about dinner time." He walked over to the kitchen.

"I'm still a little surprised," Fenton admitted as he and Kwan followed after Dash.

"Surprised?" Kwan repeated curiously.

"That the two of you cook almost every night." Fenton shrugged. "I guess I kind of pictured you getting take out a lot. I know there are nights when I'd rather just order some food than have to cook it."

"It's mostly Kwan's fault." Dash grabbed a pan from where they were stored. "He's always liked cooking."

"My mother was always pretty big with cooking. Besides, it's healthier cooking your own meals." Kwan opened the refrigerator to pull out ingredients for that night's dinner. "Playing football is a lot easier when you're not weighed down by junk food. Although Nasty Burger was pretty hard to pass up."

Fenton chuckled. "I'm pretty sure none of us want to know what their secret is, but their burgers are pretty good." He got to work helping his roommates prepare dinner, and within forty-five minutes, they were all seated back on the couch with their dinner.

Dash snatched up the remote and flipped on the television to give them some entertainment while they ate. After flipping through channels for a minute or so, he decided to leave it some movie he never heard of but had lots of chase scenes and explosions. It was nice as something in the background and didn't need much concentration to follow the plot.

"So are you going to invite your new girlfriend?" Dash questioned after no one spoke for several long minutes stretching closer to an hour.

Fenton coughed, choking on his mouthful of food. Kwan was quick to grab a glass of water from the table and pass it to him. After he gulped down nearly half the glass, Fenton recovered. "Um, I hadn't really thought about it." His cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "I was still trying to think of when to ask her out on a second date."

"You should invite her," Kwan suggested encouragingly. "And if she feels uncomfortable at the party, you can always leave at any time and take her some place a little quieter."

"I'll think about it."

Dash eyed Fenton, noting a hint of nervous, or uncomfortable, energy in the other man. "What's wrong?" He cocked an eyebrow, his mouth pressing thinner. "Don't want her to meet us?"

"Dash!" Kwan slapped him on the shoulder.

"My dating record isn't exactly the greatest," Fenton admitted, frowning and definitely embarrassed. "Jazz is really excited about me and Hayley, and I just don't want to do anything to screw things up. I'm sure that's bound to happen eventually, but I'd at least like to make it a couple of dates before doing something incredibly stupid."

"Well, if you think like that," Dash snorted, "of course you'll end up being stupid."

"Dash," Kwan growled, shooting his warning glare.

"We can't all be confident popular jocks who never screw up when dating someone." Fenton scowled at him.

"You're supposed to be trying to get along!" Kwan snapped, anger tingeing his voice.

Dash winced. Kwan was happy about the two of them trying to be friends, but Dash always had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. "Look. I didn't mean to insult you. And just because I was a jock and popular doesn't mean I have some perfect dating record. But if you don't have at least a little bit of confidence in yourself, you might drive away the person you're dating. I mean," he rolled his eyes, "you're not a bad guy, so I'm sure whoever would be lucky to date you." He shrugged a shoulder, deciding to leave it there.

Fenton poked at his dinner. "I guess you do have a point," he admitted with a sigh. "I do get kind of down on myself when it comes to dating. I should probably work on that." He finished off the last few bites of his dinner then stood. "I've got some stuff to go over for class tomorrow. So I'm going to hang out in my room." He walked over to the kitchen to clean his plate.

"You don't have to leave," Dash said after receiving a nudge in the rib from Kwan. "I know that came off jerky, but-"

"It's fine. Really." Fenton shook his head as he dried off his hands. "I was planning on spending time in my room after eating. I'm kind of tired anyway. But Friday," he pointed at them as he walked toward his room, "we get stuff to prep for Halloween."

Kwan waited until Fenton shut the door to his room then turned to Dash, punching his friend in the arm. "You're supposed to be trying to make friends with him."

"You know I'm a jerk sometimes." Dash leaned forward to set his plate on the table. "I'm sorry! I'll try harder. Okay?"

"Good." Kwan nodded in satisfaction. "Because I want this to work out for all our sakes."

"I know. I get it." Dash got up and carried his plate over to the sink. He didn't know Fenton too well yet, but Fenton at least proved he wasn't some horrible slob, helping to keep the apartment clean. He had a steady job which meant steady income so he wasn't some deadbeat mooching off them. He could do some cooking, and when they got to know each other, Dash could probably list off more stuff that would make Fenton seem like an attractive boyfriend to someone. He didn't tell Fenton to have more confidence to be mean. It was like a self fulfilling prophecy. If he worried too much about messing things up, Fenton would eventually do just that and mess up a potentially good relationship. He needed to put such doubtful thoughts out of his mind.

_Not my business_ , Dash told himself as he washed his plate. Why was he even concerning himself with Fenton's love life? He shook his head and focused on the task before him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day of school passes, followed by practices to coach.

Why did he expect things to go smoothly? Kwan shook his head as he walked down the hall. He should have known Dash would inevitably stick his foot in his mouth. Breakfast was tense and awkward, Danny seemed to have his mind somewhere else, and his attempts to break the silence failed miserably. He hoped they could work things out by Friday so their Halloween celebrations weren't ruined. He especially didn't want to go to the hospital if Dash and Danny couldn't at least act civilly around each other. But what could he do to fix things between his roommates? He could hear Valerie's voice in his head telling him to just leave it alone. He couldn't always be the one forcing the other two to work things out. Dash and Danny needed to do it themselves. Kwan simply felt frustrated being unable to help in some way.

"No way!" a female student shouted in surprise.

"Shh! And no, I'm not lying," her friend said in a quieter voice. "I even got pictures. Look!"

"Oh my gosh! They're so cute!"

"And Jason totally didn't believe me. He said there was no way they could be a couple. But these pictures just prove it."

"Hm," her friend sounded uncertain, "but I totally thought he was dating-"

Kwan rounded the corner and cleared his throat loudly. The two friends quickly snapped their mouths shut and stared up at him with paling faces and perhaps a hint of fear in their eyes. One woman hid the cell phone behind her back. "Shouldn't you be getting to class?" Kwan questioned with the lift of one eyebrow.

"Ahaha," the student with the cell phone laughed nervously. "We were just on our way! Come on, Lindsay!" She grabbed her friend's arm and hurried down the hall to class. 

Kwan watched them go with a small shake of his head, hoping their gossip wouldn't lead to trouble for anyone. From his own high school experience, he recalled how misunderstandings could ruin relationships and friendships. Kwan continued his way down the main hall, remembering he needed to grab some things for class. A moments later, he bumped into Dash.

"Hey, I looked at the schedule," Kwan said as they walked alongside each other. "If our practices end early enough, we might be able to catch some of Danny's practice."

Dash frowned, scratching at his cheek with one finger. "I don't know," he mumbled, uncertainty radiating off him. "He probably doesn't want us bothering him."

Kwan threw an arm over Dash's shoulders then punched him on the arm. "You want to make this friendship thing work with him? Then you can't just shut down when you have one little stumble. You were a jerk." Kwan ignored his friend's glare. "But it's not like Danny didn't know that about you going into this. He wants this situation to work out too. So you just have to keep reaching out. And maybe try to stop yourself from putting your foot in your mouth again."

"You know that one's a tough habit to break."

Kwan chuckled. "Yeah, but I believe you can do it."

Dash rolled his eyes. "You have way too much faith in my sometimes."

Kwan lifted his shoulders. "You kept believing that lie that you wouldn't succeed after graduating high school. And look at you now! You're a great teacher and coach. You're proving that stupid counselor wrong."

"What about you?" Dash elbowed Kwan in the ribs. "She said you were going end up a hobo. You were freaking out about it too." He snorted and reached over to flick his friend on the side of the head. "Like that was ever going to happen. You are way too smart to end up like that."

Kwan huffed with a frown. "It could have happened. Being smart doesn't necessarily guarantee a job. Plus we couldn't predict how the economy would be now back then. Lots of things could have factored into me becoming a hobo like she said I would."

Dash shook his head. "You're still crazy for believing it." Then he sighed. "Want to switch with me? I don't know if I can take teaching sex ed one more time."

"Not for a million dollars." Kwan patted his friend on the shoulder. "I need to get ready for my next class. See you after practice."

"Yeah." Dash waved as they parted ways.

Once he grabbed what he needed, Kwan headed to his next class. Thankfully, many of his students were interested in computer science. He had a few jocks who saw it as a floater class. Walking into the classroom, he frowned at those jocks. They would think twice before assuming any class was an easy A when Kwan was finished with them. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work teaching that day's lesson.

By the end of the school day, Kwan wanted to simply go back to their apartment and sleep for a while. Some days were more exhausting than others, but he had baseball practice to coach. With a sigh, he prepared mentally as he walked the halls to the exit closest to the baseball field. He couldn't walk out onto the field showing his weariness to the team. He needed to remain a source of strength and encouragement. When he reached the team, Kwan clapped his hands together, grinned widely, and launched into how they would spend today's practice.

They had a good team. Their outfielders were fast runners, who could catch up with long balls or diving in for short ones. Their pitchers had a decent range of pitches they could throw. The infielders were swift to pick up the ball and throw to each other for quick outs. They had a good line up of batters with Jeremy as their star.

After watching over practice for some time, Kwan unfolded his arms then walked over to Jeremy. "You should have been able to hit that pitch. It was right in your sweet spot, and you swung like you didn't even see the ball."

Jeremy hung his head, tugging down on his helmet. "I know, Coach. I just - I got distracted. It won't happen again."

Kwan looked the young man over then sighed. "I don't know what's going on with you, but I want you know you can talk to me if you're having any problems."

Jeremy shook his head, digging the toe of one shoe into the ground. "It's fine. It's nothing to worry about." When he lifted his head, he grinned at his coach, but Kwan wasn't dumb enough to buy the fake smile. "Really, you don't have to worry about me so much. I'll be ready for our next game."

Kwan pursed his mouth, but he could do little to force his student to talk to him about whatever problem bothered him. "All right. I expect to see your head in the game from now on then." He bumped a fist lightly against Jeremy's arm.

After seeing the batter nod, Kwan walked away to check on the progress of the rest of the team. Everyone practiced hard, making great plays even if it was only practice. Kwan had a good feeling about their next big game, if Jeremy could work out whatever was distracting him. He paused here and there to give advice to the members of the team to help them improve. The crack of the bat striking the ball snapped Kwan's attention back to the batters. The ball flew almost all the way to the back wall, and Kwan grinned, hoping to see more hits like that during games.

"Good practice, everyone," Kwan said after he called in the team. "We have a game next week against our rivals-"

The team booed.

Kwan's mouth twitched. "We're going to beat them this year." He smiled as the team cheered. "But I want you to be on your best behavior. I know they have a tendency to try provoking you. Don't let them get in your head and mess up your game. Now go hit the showers." He watched the team rush back toward the school building, heading for the locker room.

"All finished up?"

Kwan grabbed some left behind gear around the field then walked over to the fence surrounding the baseball field. "Yup," he answered, grinning at his friend. "I'm surprised you finished with football so quickly. Usually I'm the one heading over to meet you."

Dash shrugged. "Practicing hard is important, but so is spending time resting the body. I decided to go easy on them today."

"Because you want to check out Danny's swim practice."

"I didn't say that," Dash grumbled.

"You didn't have to." Kwan walked past his friend, unable to wipe the grin from his face. "I know you too well."

"Sometimes that's really annoying." Dash scowled, but it had little effect on Kwan. "I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around Fenton being a coach. It's that have to see it to believe it type thing."

After Kwan put away the baseball gear, they hunted down the pool. Until Danny mentioned it last night, Kwan wasn't even aware their school had a pool. He whistled lowly when the stuck their heads into the pool area. It was a nicer facility than he imagined with all white tiling. The water looked cool and refreshing, tempting Kwan to just dive into it and swim a few laps for fun.

"I guess we missed it," Dash mumbled, taking note of the lack of anyone actually in the pool.

With a sigh, Kwan slumped his shoulders. "I guess we were too slow getting here. But he had practice yesterday, and we didn't. So next week-"

"Oh, there he is." Dash smacked his friend on the shoulder.

Danny stepped out of the locker room and walked around the pool, picking up a stray towel here and there. He stopped short when he lifted his head and spotted his roommates watching him. "So you really decided to stop by?" He shook his head, a small smile tugging at his mouth as he walked over to them.

"Didn't think we would?" Dash questioned as he stepped through the doorway.

"Well, I didn't think you would show up the next day." Danny shrugged. "If you give me a minute to finish up, we can head home together."

Kwan sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I was looking forward to sitting in on your practice."

"Maybe next week then." Danny finished surveying the pool area. After he disappeared into the locker room for a moment, he returned to join his fellow teachers. They left the pool and headed for the front entrance of the school. "So you have some big games coming up?" Danny glanced over to them as they walked.

"Next week," Kwan agreed with a bob of his head. Then he frowned as he looked to Dash. "Friday night. The part that sucks is we have our games on the same night. I would have liked to go to support the football team too."

"We couldn't do anything about the scheduling." Dash shrugged. "But we get to go to plenty of other games during the season to support each other."

Danny nodded, but his expression seemed slightly disappointed. "That's hard to pick which game to go to."

"But what about you?" Kwan nudged him in the ribs. "Got a swim meet coming up?"

"Uh, yeah. The Saturday after your games. They usually start in the morning."

"We should go to your meet," Kwan suggested, glancing to Dash, who half shrugged as if saying it wasn't his decision.

"Sure. If you want to." Danny rubbed at the back of his neck, his cheeks slightly pink. When they were almost to the front entrance, he paused with a thoughtful frown. "You know what? I just remembered there's something I want to pick up at my storage unit. You guys can go on ahead of me."

"Oh." Kwan lowered his gaze. "Um, we could go with you. If you need any help?"

Danny shook his head. "It's just something small I need for a project. You probably have things you want to get done, and I don't want to inconvenience you."

"But-"

"Kwan," Dash's hand fell onto his friend's shoulder, "pushing doesn't do a lot of good. We can be friends without having to do everything together."

"I know." Kwan sighed. He also knew he sometimes came on a little strong, wanting perhaps a little too desperately to make friends with everyone. "All right. We'll see you back home." They waved to each other as they parted ways. He grunted when Dash slapped him on the back.

"You seriously don't have to try so hard. Fenton likes you. I'm the one that needs to worry about getting him to like me."

Kwan smirked as he punched his friend in the arm. "You better work on keeping that foot of yours out of your mouth then."

"Yeah, yeah." Dash rolled his eyes. "Let's hurry up. I have a show to catch up on while we finish up some stuff for Halloween."


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny needs something from his storage unit if he plans to get some answers.

After he parted ways with his roommates, Danny flew off to the storage unit he rented and slipped inside invisibly. He could have arrived and entered his unit like any normal person, but sometimes he was simply too tired to keep up the charade of being "normal." He wanted to get in and get out with what he wanted without anyone seeing him or questioning him. Already, he imagined Kwan and Dash asking him about what he needed to grab. He didn't have any answer he could give them at the moment.

Glancing around, Danny sought out something he could use for an excuse to visit his storage unit. The real reason he needed to come was the ghost. After he captured it in the bank vault, Danny slipped into his room to stow the knapsack and his Thermos before he entered the apartment normally. Since Dash and Kwan were his roommates, Danny felt like he needed to be extra cautious about his Phantom activities. He was wary about questioning the ghost in their apartment until he had a moment when both Dash and Kwan were gone. But if he ever got the chance, he needed to be prepared, and for that, he couldn't simply pop open the Thermos and release the ghost.

"Ah! There it is!" Danny grinned when he spotted the box in which he kept some his parents' inventions.

During his career as Phantom, he discovered quite a few of his parents' inventions were useful. He pried open the box and rooted inside until he found the particular invention he needed. It didn't look like much, but most people always laughed at his parents' inventions, even the most effective ones. It was roughly the size of a Frisbee and rather light. When activated, the device would create a small ecto energy shield which could trap a ghost. With this, Danny could release the ghost from the Thermos without fear of it escaping or attempting to attack him.

Once the mini ghost shield was safely tucked away in his bag, Danny resumed his search for something suitable to bring back with him in case the inevitable questions came up from his roommates. After a few minutes, his eyes landed on a box, almost half buried amongst the rest of his stuff. When he read the label scrawled diagonally over one side of the cardboard box, his eyes lit up and a smile broke across his face. Halloween decorations. It was the perfect excuse to make a stop at his unit. Maybe they wouldn't need all of it, or any of it, but all the junk he saved up over the years might provide some more inspiration for how to decorate their apartment for the party. He carefully extracted the box, making sure he didn't accidentally cause an avalanche of boxes within his storage unit. Then, with the box in his arms, Danny left the unit and flew off toward the apartment building.

When he neared the building, he found a safe place to land and transform back to human without anyone seeing him. He casually walked out of his hiding place then strolled along the sidewalk like everyone else. No one noticed or raised an eyebrow, and Danny sighed internally in relief. He might not be in Amity Park, but it didn't mean he could relax. If he got sloppy, someone might catch him and discover his secret. He also hoped to keep his Phantom activities quiet. Phantom belonged to Amity Park, and he didn't want to arose any suspicions from Dash or Kwan.

"I'm back," Danny announced when he entered the apartment, after a small trouble trying to juggle the box while unlocking the door. He pushed the door shut behind him with his foot. He lifted his head when the sound of the television suddenly shut off. Dash kept his head turned away with a flush of color spreading across his cheeks, his chin resting in his hand as he leaned on the armrest of the couch. Danny frowned. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Nope." Dash shook his head. "Nothing at all." After setting the remote control on the table, he stood and turned toward Danny. "What's with the box?"

"Oh!" Danny walked over to the couch and placed the box on the end of the table. "Well, I remembered I had a box of Halloween decorations. I know you probably already have some, but I thought they might be useful when we're setting stuff up for the party." He shrugged like it was nothing.

Dash nodded, his dark blue eyes dropping to the box. "Extra is always good. It might save us from spending some more money on decorations if you have something we could use instead." He walked around the couch, heading toward the kitchen.

With a sigh, Danny rubbed at his forehead then followed after his fellow teacher. "Look. I know last night I was being dumb. What you said," he raked a hand through his raven hair, "wasn't far off from the truth. I _should_ be more confident with dating. But hearing that from you, the guy who made my high school life a nightmare, was a hard pill to swallow. I'm sorry for snapping back."

Dash pulled his head out of the fridge and stared at Danny over the open door. "You're apologizing?"

Danny's eyes darted around. "Um, yeah?" His brow creased slightly.

"That wasn't supposed to be a hard question." Dash chuckled as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge door. "I'm just surprised. I figured I would be the last person you would voluntarily apologize to. But for the record, I'm sorry for putting it so bluntly. That's just sort of my nature. I'm not the gentle talker Kwan is."

"In high school, I wouldn't have dreamed of having a reason to apologize to you." Danny cracked a small smile. "And if you started being all nice to me the way Kwan is, I'd have to wonder if I suddenly fell into the Twilight Zone."

"What I don't get," Dash leaned against the counter as he opened the bottle of water, "is you went on a few dates with Paulina yet you still have such little confidence in yourself."

Danny snorted. "I would hardly call whatever that was a relationship. That date to the dance was only because she was angry at Sam. If Sam hadn't said anything when I was trying to ask her to the dance, Paulina probably would have just turned me down."

"Oh, that makes sense now." Dash took a sip of his water. "But later on, she was all into you for a while. It was almost like she was a completely different person. She was all about you then it was like you didn't even exist to her."

"Ah, well," Danny looked away nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck, "you know how it can be with a messy breakup. She probably just wanted to distance herself from me after it happened. I don't really like thinking about it." How could he tell Dash the only reason Paulina was interested in him was because she was possessed by Kitty who only wanted to make Johnny jealous? Every version of that incident sounded suspicious. Danny actually hoped Dash forgot all about it.

"That's something I can understand. Breakups can be hard. But I hope you don't think too badly of Paulina. There's more to her than what she showed off to everyone at school."

"I know. I mean, I don't think badly of her. We all sort of wore masks at school, wanting everyone else to like us or just hiding parts of ourselves we were afraid people would hate. That's just," Danny shrugged, "sort of how it is."

Dash stared at him, his bottle pressed to his lips. Then he lowered his arm. "Right. Well, I've got some stuff to finish up."

"Yeah, I, uh, do too." Danny stood there for an awkward moment longer then bobbed his head before heading to his room. Unfortunately, with Dash around, Danny couldn't question the ghost. After shutting the door, he walked over to his desk and hooked the strap of his bag over the chair. For several minutes, he simply stared at the door to his closet. His Thermos and the knapsack from the near bank robbery were in there. After dinner last night, he spent a lot of time going over the knapsack, but there was nothing extraordinary about it. Anyone could have bought a knapsack just like it, and the ghost could have easily swiped it from any store or person. If he wanted to learn anything, he needed to speak with the ghost.

Danny sat down at his desk and got started reviewing his students' papers so he could hand them out tomorrow in class. His mouth quirked into a small smile when he came to Charlotte's paper. Like he suspected, it was one of the best papers out of all his students. She was always great at analyzing stories and writing concise essays. He was almost finished, and growing tired quickly, when Kwan knocked on his bedroom door to announce dinner. The distraction from grading papers was welcomed, and Danny eagerly leapt up from his chair to join his roommates.

Dinner was a much quieter affair from last night. Their conversation steered clear of dating, though thinking about it reminded Danny to call Hayley about a second date. When he got back to his room after dinner and a little down time of relaxing and watching television with Dash and Kwan, Danny stared at his cell phone. It was too late to call her tonight about a date, or attending the Halloween party together. He tapped his finger next to the phone in thought then returned his attention to grading papers, deciding he would call her tomorrow about the date. When he finally finished with the papers, Danny stood up and stretched. He grabbed his things then headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

He was in the middle of brushing his teeth when he heard the bathroom door creak open. Turning his head, toothbrush held before his mouth, Danny said, "If you give me a few minutes, I'll be done."

Kwan lifted his head, his aqua green eyes snapping open and fully alert. "Oh!" His cheeks flushed darkly. "Sorry. I, uh, didn't realize." He rubbed at his eyes. "I thought you and Dash were already sleeping."

Danny finished brushing his teeth and spat his mouthful of toothpaste into the sink. "Don't worry about it." He cleaned his mouth and face.

"Shit! What happened?"

Danny looked to Kwan and blinked at the shocked expression on the other man's face. "Wha-" He could feel the color draining from his face. He took off his shirt as he washed up, giving Kwan a clear view of his chest and back. Grabbing his night shirt, the NASA one he had for ages, he quickly pulled it on to hide the scars. "They're old. Nothing to worry about."

Kwan frowned. "Some of those look pretty bad."

Danny picked up his things to bring back to his room. "They might look bad, but they're nothing serious." The scars healed up better than they probably would have thanks to his ghost powers. Only the worst of his injuries from fighting ghosts left behind scars. "I got into some bad fights in the past. They're nothing to do with you and Dash," he added quickly, seeing the panic rising in Kwan's eyes. "Really, you don't have to worry about them." He held Kwan's gaze. "I mean that. Please don't stress out about it or anything like that."

Kwan didn't look too convinced, but Danny guessed he couldn't stop the man from being worried. "If you say so," Kwan mumbled, his gaze dipping slightly like he could still see the scars through Danny's shirt.

"I'll see you in the morning." Danny bumped the back of his fist lightly against Kwan's arm as he passed the man. Once he made it back to his room and closed the door, he released his breath, his heart still beating a hair too fast. He rubbed the heel of one palm against his eye. He wasn't ashamed of his body, being used to Tucker and Sam seeing him without a shirt, but they were well aware of his scars and from where they came. Having Kwan and Dash see those scars meant questions. Danny could already see them forming in Kwan's mind when they stood in the bathroom. He just hoped Kwan wouldn't push too hard about discovering the truth behind the scars.


	11. Chapter 11

Dash shoveled another spoonful of cereal into his mouth as he read over the newspaper. Fenton got up not long ago and shuffled into the bathroom where the shower now ran. When he looked up and glanced across the table, Dash frowned at his friend. Kwan's plate of fried eggs and toast sat mostly untouched, and he gazed off in a daze with his mind probably miles away.

After a moment, Dash sighed, putting down his spoon. "Hey." He reached out and snapped his fingers right in front of his friend's eyes. "What's up with you?"

Kwan shook his head. "Nothing." He poked at his eggs, his fork popping open the yolk so it oozed out over his plate.

"It's not nothing." Dash knew his friend too well and could tell when Kwan wasn't being completely honest with him. Kwan was many things, but a good liar wasn't one of them. Normally, Dash would consider that a good quality, but Kwan's stubbornness about keeping secrets could be frustrating. "I'm not expecting you to tell me everything. But don't lie to me about it being nothing when it's clearly something."

Kwan arched an eyebrow at him. "And I know you too. You never let anything go. If I tell you there's something bugging me that I can't tell you about, you'll just keep trying to figure out what it is."

"Maybe," Dash admitted with a frown. "But at least I won't feel annoyed with you lying about it." Grumpily, he dropped his gaze to go back to reading the newspaper. He didn't see much interesting and was about to flip the page to the sports section when something caught his attention. Leaning down, he read over the small article on the corner of the page. "Listen to this. There are reports of about five gas stations hit recently in robberies. The weird thing is, there's no evidence of a break in and nothing was caught on camera."

"There has to be some kind of evidence," Kwan argued, finally eating his breakfast.

"As someone from Amity Park-"

"Dash, this isn't Amity Park. There aren't any-" Kwan snapped his mouth shut when the bathroom door opened.

Dash turned in his seat as Fenton stepped out of the bathroom, dressed for work and raking a hand through his slightly damp hair like he was trying to tame his wild locks that never seemed to want to behave. He noticed Kwan pointedly refused to even look in Fenton's direction.

After glancing between the two men, Dash sighed, folding up the newspaper. "Did something happen last night?"

Fenton's brow creased with confusion at the question. "No. Why do you ask?"

Dash shot a glance at Kwan, who was still looking everywhere but at Fenton. Kwan seriously needed to work on being less obvious. Fenton, on the other hand, didn't even bat an eye, easily saying no while everything about Kwan's body language said yes. "No reason," Dash replied with a shake of his head. "Don't forget. We'll be hitting the store right after school."

Fenton grabbed some cereal for a quick breakfast then joined them at the table. "Looking forward to it." He stared around at the space of their apartment. "This place is going to look great for Halloween."

"Of course it will!" Kwan agreed with a grin, perhaps a touch forced, and Dash narrowed his eyes. "Everyone here loves our Halloween parties."

The shift in conversation alleviated some of the tension in Kwan, and they talked about their various ideas for the party. But Dash kept a keen eye on his roommates. Something definitely happened between the two of them, and if they weren't going to tell him, Dash would simply find another way of figuring out the answer.

After cleaning up their breakfast, the three teachers gathered their things then left the apartment together. When they reached the school, they split up, having their own classes to prepare for before the start of the day. Dash entered his classroom and, standing behind his desk, organized his papers. Thankfully, the sex ed portion of health class was almost at an end. In some ways, it felt too short, not enough information to truly prepare the students, but he was forced to stick as much to what was outlined in the school's curriculum as possible. Sadly, it meant not straying from heterosexual sex. During class, he wasn't even allowed to address the topic of other sexualities, which he knew some students were questioning.

The students filed into the classroom and took their seats before the first bell rang for the day. Looking out over the faces of his students, a few dressed in costumes even though Halloween wasn't until tomorrow night, Dash still couldn't wait to be done with this section of his class. After taking a deep breath, he launched into that day's lesson, ignoring some giggles from students as he talked about the male reproduction system. Technical, boring, and perhaps a bit mind numbing. School days always seemed longest when he had to regurgitate the same dull information from the textbook. Class would fly by when they held lively discussions about their current unit.

"Don't forget to pick up your homework assignment before you go," Dash reminded his students when the final bell of the day rang. He picked up the dry eraser to wipe the board clean. "There will be a quiz next week, so make sure you do some studying over the weekend."

"You look exhausted."

Dash turned his head, glancing toward the classroom doorway. He cracked a smile when he saw the chemistry standing there as the last of the students rushed out of the room. "Ms. Burke." He finished cleaning the board then set the dry eraser down. "Ah, you know." He shrugged one shoulder. "Some days just feel longer than others. Are you going to come to our party tomorrow?"

"When have I ever missed your parties?" Ms. Burke's smile brightened her face and put a twinkle in her brown eyes. She was four or five years older than Dash but could easily pass for being the younger of them. Her dark hair was cropped short, brushing over her shoulders. They met sometimes to work out or go for a run together. She could bench press more than he, and it always left Dash feeling amazed. How she had no one special in her life, Dash couldn't understand it. Ms. Burke had an amazing body and personality. She was smart and funny, teasing Dash from time to time. But maybe she simply preferred being on her own and focusing on her career. "Will you need any help?"

"Well, we're going to grab some things at the store today," Dash explained, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "But we'll get everything ready in time for the party. Anyway," he walked over to where Ms. Burke stood, "we want you and the other teachers to come and just have fun. We don't want you to have to work to set stuff up."

"How sweet." Ms. Burke patted him on the cheek. "How has someone not snatched you up yet?"

Dash chuckled. "I guess I've just haven't found the right person." They walked down the hall together.

"You know, if you're interested, I may just know someone who could be a good fit for you," Ms. Burke offered, nudging him with her elbow.

Sometimes it struck him as odd, how different he was now compared to high school, or even college. Back then, he flirted with almost every woman he met who attracted his eye. Now, he wasn't in such a rush to hook up with just some random woman, or random anyone. He may not know exactly what he was looking for in a significant other, but he wanted something real, something that would last.

Dash glanced toward her and cracked a smile. "You're always welcomed to bring a friend to the party if you like."

"I'll give her a call and see if she can make it." Ms. Burke waved as she broke off to enter the teacher's lounge.

Dash returned the wave then walked off to meet up with his roommates. Kwan was already at the front entrance waiting for him. As he approached his friend, Dash raised an eyebrow in question. "Where is he?"

"He just needed to talk to a student for a moment about a paper," Kwan answered with a shrug. "He should be here soon. And there he is." He nodded, looking over Dash's shoulder down the hall.

"Sorry!" Fenton held a hand to his waist as he bent forward slightly, trying to catch his breath. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting."

"Just got here," Dash said. "Ready to head to the store?" With nods of agreement, the three teachers exited the school.

"I have a list of the things we should pick up," Kwan said on their way to the grocery store. "I think we should pick up some extras. For, you know, testing so we'll have enough left over afterward for the final product."

Dash's mouth twitched a little. Kwan was always the planner between them. He was the one thinking of the future and deciding on a career long before Dash even gave it a passing thought, even if Kwan still let that counselor's words get to him. But maybe that explained why Kwan was so determined to plan for a career in freshmen year of high school. Dash wasn't sure he would have become a teacher if Kwan wasn't there to nudge him to figure out what to do with his life. He never intended to make it seem like he was copying Kwan by becoming a teacher too. He spent a lot of time weighing out his options and figuring out what might be the best fit for him. Teaching, coaching, seemed to make the most sense to him after a lot of deliberation.

"You should make that pumpkin bread," Dash suggested, turning a grin to Fenton. "Being able to make delicious food is always a plus in anyone's book."

"Maybe." Fenton flushed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, but first, I should probably actually invite Hayley to the party."

"What?" Dash gaped at him. "Why haven't you asked her?"

Kwan reached over and slapped him on the arm. "Don't pressure him. But," he turned to Fenton, "if you want, we can divide up the list and split up. You could give her a call in private."

"Yeah, that, yeah." Fenton nodded. "I was planning to call her today. But with work, you know, there kind of wasn't a lot of time to make a call." Lunch would be the best time to call someone, but sometimes, they only had a small window in which to eat their lunch. Students popped in from time to time to discuss class work, which cut into their lunch time quite a bit.

"Great," Dash said, clapping his hands together. "You'll call her from the store and we'll get the stuff we need, and we can all meet up at checkout."

Kwan divided the list up among them when they arrived at the grocery store. Dash and Kwan stepped into the store, grabbing a basket by the door, while Fenton stood outside to make his call to Hayley.

"Speaking of dates at the party," Dash mumbled before they parted ways. He bowed his head, scratching a hand through his blond locks. "Ms. Burke is bringing along someone she wants to set me up with."

Kwan stared at him with his mouth open in a little "o" of surprise. Then a grin slowly spread across his face as he prodded his friend in the arm. "Will there be wedding bells?"

Dash shoved him, lightly, and rolled his eyes. "I haven't even met her yet. But would you have liked me to ask her to bring someone for you?" Dash turned a smirk on his friend, watching the color rising to Kwan's cheeks.

"N-No, that's not necessary."

Dash suspected that would be the response, but he still frowned. "Is everything okay? I don't think you've had a date in a while. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but you know," he hunched up his shoulders, "I just want to make sure you're all right."

Kwan chuckled and tapped his fist against Dash's arm. "I'm fine. I'm just taking a break from dating."

Dash nodded. "Well, when you're ready, let me know. I'll try to find someone great for you." After sharing a fist bump, they parted ways to pick up what they needed for the party.


	12. Chapter 12

Kwan tried to keep what happened the night before out of his mind. Danny easily acted like nothing major happened, and Kwan wasn't sure how he felt about that. Some of those scars looked like they were probably pretty bad when Danny received them, bad enough for Danny to probably need to go to the hospital to have them treated. Danny might have said they had nothing to do with the jocks bullying him in high school, but it didn't make Kwan feel any better about his past actions. Maybe he didn't hurt Danny as badly as some of the other jocks, but he still played a part in harassing him.

Danny got into fights? Kwan couldn't wrap his mind around that idea. Whenever the jocks bullied him, Danny never attempted to fight back, so Kwan didn't even think Danny knew how to fight. But who would Danny be fighting? Judging from the scars he had, the fights seemed like they might be a regular thing for Danny, which only increased Kwan's worry.

Now Dash knew something was up too. Kwan was never good at keeping things from his best friend. Most things, at least. He managed to keep a few secrets to himself. Dash was the type to never let something go once he set his mind on it. He was going to dig around trying to ferret out what exactly Kwan was keeping from him. Kwan debated whether he should just tell his friend and save them all the headache or not. But it wasn't his secret to tell. Danny probably wouldn't want them talking about his scars behind his back.

"Here," Danny said, holding a spoon in front of him. "Give this a try." The oozing green liquid dripping from the spoon into Danny's hand beneath it may not look like the most appetizing thing in the world. It did give off the right appearance for ectoplasm though.

Kwan wrapped his lips around the spoon, tasting the concoction they spent the last hour working on since they arrived home from the grocery store. "A little sweet," he said after taking the time to focus on the taste, "but not too bad. We may have a winner with that one."

Danny nodded. "I'll try to cut the sweetness some. I don't want to leave anyone with toothaches." He set the used spoon in the sink then returned to his pot of "ectoplasm" for one of their beverages.

"One batch of cupcakes is in the oven," Dash announced after closing the oven door. "While those are cooking, I'm going to start on cleaning some stuff out of the way to set up for the party." He walked away from the kitchen area and headed toward the couch, picking up stray items they left lying around on the table.

"You're still worrying about it, aren't you?" Danny mumbled quietly, his gaze flicking over to Dash to make sure the blond teacher didn't hear him.

Kwan weighed his options as he worked on fixing another one of the dishes they planned to serve at the party. He could lie, of course, but so far today, it seemed lying didn't work out too well for him. "Did you really think I wouldn't worry?"

Danny sighed, his expression filled with exhaustion. "I suppose I can't blame you. If I saw scars all over you, I'd probably have a million terrible thoughts running through my head." He tossed another glance at Dash as the jock walked into his room to store away some of his personal items. "So I guess I can't really tell you to not worry. It's just the scars I have were from fights years ago. If you're thinking I'm going to come stumbling into the apartment bleeding out, that's not likely to happen."

"You promise it won't?" Kwan gave his roommate a hard stare.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't plan on it-"

Kwan slammed down his hand on the counter, careful not to stab himself with the knife. "You say don't worry. You say it's in the past. But you can't promise that you definitely won't turn up bleeding at some point in the future?"

Danny flinched back, and Kwan might have felt bad if the topic wasn't so serious. "I'd really like to promise I won't, but I get this bad feeling if I say it, my past will just come back to bite me in the back."

"That's not exactly a confidence builder."

"I know." Danny hung his head. "That's why I would have preferred neither of you found out."

"Found out what?"

Kwan winced alongside Danny when they heard Dash. "It's noth-"

"I'm not dumb," Dash interrupted, walking over to the oven to check on the cupcakes. "I knew you were whispering, but I was going to stay out of it. Clearly you didn't want to tell me whatever you were talking about. I can respect that." He turned toward them, folding his arms. "But there's something you didn't want _either_ of us knowing?"

The confrontation clearly flustered Danny as he poured the "ectoplasm" mixture into a container to be stored until tomorrow night. "It's really not a big deal."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Dash shrugged. "But Kwan's going to continue worrying about it. And I have the annoying tendency to keep poking at something until I discover the truth when I know my friend's keeping something from me. So this is a chance for you to just clear the air and get it out in the open. You can call me a jerk or an ass or whatever for this, but we all want this roommate thing to work out. Whatever this," he pointed between Kwan and Danny, "is doesn't help. It's just going to create tension, and then fighting will happen. It'll be messy and not good, and none of us want that." Then he raised his hands before him. "But it's entirely your decision. I can't force you to say anything. If you want to keep your secret, that's fine."

Danny's mouth pursed slightly. "That feels kind of manipulative."

"Like I said, you can call me an ass." Dash shrugged, and Kwan worried this might be the beginning of their roommate situation deteriorating.

After a long, tense, silence, Danny exhaled loudly. "Fine. But this seriously isn't as big a deal as it might look."

Dash's brow creased, confusion in his dark blue eyes as Danny grabbed the hem of his shirt. In one swift movement, the shirt came up over his head, and Dash's eyes snapped wide open. Kwan winced at the sight of the scars. Just how many fights did Danny get into to receive so many injuries?

"Shit!" Dash cursed under his breath, a hand immediately going to his hair and raking through the blond strands. "Those aren't - I didn't do - What the _hell_ , Fenton?"

"No," Danny said as he pulled his shirt back on, "none of this is from you. All you did was bruise me, but that all healed up pretty quickly. This is from," he waved a hand, his gaze flicking briefly toward the ceiling, "run ins with the wrong kind of people. So there's seriously no reason for either of you to feel guilty about anything."

"Not really how that works, Danny," Kwan said, frowning. "We did some pretty mean stuff back then, and just because we've grown out of that phase, it doesn't mean we don't feel guilty about it."

Danny leaned back against the counter, scratching his hand through his raven locks as he sighed. "Okay. I guess saying don't worry about it is a meaningless thing. Let me put it this way instead then. I hated you for a long time for bullying me. But I put that behind me ages ago, and even more so now after getting to know you a little as something other than jocks. I've forgiven you for those past actions. So while you might feel guilty, just know I don't hold any of it against you."

"I guess that helps ease some of the guilt." Dash sighed, lowering his arms. "But now we're just going to be curious. Who were you getting into fights with? Is that why you would never change with the rest of the boys in the locker room for gym? And why you preferred taking showers alone?"

"This is exactly why I was hoping neither of you would find out." Danny rubbed at his eyes then pinched the bridge of his nose. "I wanted to avoid the questions. I got a lot of questions from the rest of the guys on the swim team and my coach. Kind of hard to hide it. The fights were with no one you knew. I mean, you didn't really know anything about me back then. All I can promise the two of you is that I will try my best not to let my past come barging into our apartment."

The timer on the oven beeping interrupted the tense moment among the roommates. Dash sighed as he turned to open the oven door. After testing a few of the cupcakes with a toothpick, he pulled the trays out of the oven. Danny reached over to close the oven, and Kwan cleared off a spot to place the trays on the counter.

"So, um," Danny rubbed at his arm, "are we done talking about this? Or can I expect you to keep grilling me about it?"

Dash shared a look with Kwan, neither of them liking this new information about their roommate. "We can't force you to tell us." He held up a hand, and Danny snapped his mouth shut. "Yes, I was being a manipulative shit a moment ago, but this is obviously something you don't want to discuss further with us. But you can't blame us for being concerned. About your well being knowing you have a history with some, apparently, bad people. About those people perhaps turning up, here, at our home."

Danny nodded. "I don't blame you for those concerns. Those problems," he shook his head, "won't be coming here. Ever. Or to the school. I would never put the students' lives in danger."

"I suppose that's a good enough answer," Kwan decided, but his gaze lingered on Danny's torso, almost expecting to see the scars somehow through his shirt. "We have a lot of work to do, so we should probably get back to fixing the food and cleaning up the room so we can decorate."

Dash laughed as he nudged his elbow into Danny's ribs. "I still can't believe that body is real. You were such a shrimpy little kid in high school."

Danny laughed awkwardly, his cheeks taking on a light shade of pink. "Well, I had to work out to improve on swimming." He shrugged then carried the container of "ectoplasm" to the refrigerator to cool.

"That worked in your favor." Dash removed the cupcakes from the tray, setting them aside so he could ready the trays for a second batch. "If you ever want to hit the gym, you can join Kwan and me. Sometimes, I meet up with Ms. Burke. Have you met her?"

Danny's brow creased in thought as he got what he needed to prepare his next dish for the party. "Chemistry teacher, right? I think we've bumped into each other once or twice, but we haven't really talked to each other."

"She'll be coming to the party, so you can always talk to her then," Kwan suggested. "Though I suppose you'll be more interested in talking to your date." He grinned as Danny's cheeks darkened with a blush. This was better, more comfortable. The worry about Danny's scars remained in the back of his head, but if he focused on their amiable conversation, it was easier to forget it was there. Kwan was glad things didn't explode among them after Dash learned about the scars, and relief flooded him in the knowledge that he wouldn't have to keep the secret from his best friend any longer. They continued talking about normal things, leaving Danny's scars and past fights alone, as they prepared everything for the Halloween party tomorrow night.


	13. Chapter 13

After they stayed up fairly late to get all the cooking prepared and decorating the apartment for tomorrow night, Danny stared at the ceiling, thinking over the events of the evening. He never predicted Kwan or Dash learning about his scars. It never crossed his mind as something to worry about. When would they ever catch him without his shirt on? He realized that thinking was fooling now. After he joined the swim team in college, he grew used to lying about the scars. His teammates would give him looks during practice, and his coach always wore a concerned frown when staring at them. But they eventually learned to stop asking questions about them. Danny just hoped Dash and Kwan would let the whole thing slide and forget about the scars. Fighting ghosts wasn't an answer he was willing to tell them when they asked where he got his scars.

Danny didn't know when exactly he fell asleep, but it was close to a quarter past four in the morning when he groggily opened his eyes. Everything was blurry at first, his eyes needing time to adjust to the darkness. But when everything came into focus, he sat up with a startled yelp, his legs accidentally phasing through his mattress.

Ember laughed loudly, wrapping her free arm around her waist. "Oh, that was too good!"

"Shh!" Danny managed to stand without making himself look any more foolish. "I have roommates, and I don't want them to wake up."

Ember grinned widely as she stuck her head right back onto her neck. Bright green ectoplasm oozed from the line but slowly vanished as the wound healed. "Right. Sorry. I forgot you moved in with some boring meat sacks."

"You were a boring meat sack once too." Danny rubbed at his eyes. "I know this is tradition. But do you really have to come before the sun is up?"

"That's the best time!" Ember held out her hand. "I'm surprised Skulker wasn't the first to visit you. I guess he decided to go after some easier targets first."

Danny clenched his right hand into a fist, concentrating on a small amount of energy inside it. When he opened his hand, a marble sized ball of his energy rested in his palm, and the DP logo from his suit was engraved on it. "Planning to win this year?"

"Of course." Ember caught the ball when Danny tossed to her. "So you better not let any other ghosts catch you off guard. I'm not losing to Skulker again."

Danny rolled his eyes, but a smile sneaked onto his face. He never participated in the whole ghost Halloween tradition, as a willing participant that was, but he was happy the other ghosts stuck only to spooking each other in a contest. Halloween and Christmas were two nights he could count on for little to no ghost activity, requiring Phantom to go into action. He didn't learn about the Halloween thing the first year he had his powers. Not many ghosts liked him at the time, but mostly, it was the whole Fright Knight disaster that left him out of the loop.

"Oh! That reminds me of something." Danny walked over to the door to his room then stuck his head, invisibly, through the door. When he saw no signs of his roommates waking, he retreated back into his room. He considered for a moment then wedged his chair under the doorknob to prevent either of his roommates from accidentally barging into his room.

"What are you up to, dipstick?" Ember lifted one eyebrow as she stowed away the ball of Danny's energy into a pouch on her belt.

"Just a little project I've been meaning to get to." Danny grabbed what he needed from his closet. "I caught a ghost recently, and I've been cautious about questioning it because of my roommates." He set the mini ghost shield on the floor in front of them. "I'm hoping it's nothing big. I don't need any huge ghost trouble here."

Ember's mouth twitched. "You're like a flame. Ghosts are going to be drawn to you even if you try to avoid them."

Danny frowned. "They aren't the only things being drawn to me." With a sigh, he flipped on the shield then, as human, he stuck his arms through the ecto energy field. He popped open the Thermos, releasing the trapped ghost into the safety of the shield.

Ember cringed after the ghost emerged from the Thermos. "He is not looking too good."

"Yeah, I, uh, encountered him trying to rob a bank."

"A-" Ember started to shout, and Danny quickly shushed her. "Sorry," she whispered with an apologetic wince. "But a bank? Why would a ghost rob a bank? Well," she considered, "it would be pretty easy for us."

"Don't get any ideas." Danny glared sternly at her.

Ember raised her hands. "I have no reason to rob a bank."

A groan interrupted their conversation. The ghost in the shield rubbed at his head. "What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me." Danny folded his arms, trying to appear intimidating, which was probably more difficult when he was standing there in his night clothes.

The ghost lifted his head and squinted his eyes at Danny. Then his eyes widened, and he pressed his hands to the shield but flinched away when the energy shocked him. "You're him, aren't you? You're the half ghost. The one they call Phantom."

"The one and only," Ember answered, grinning widely as she threw her arm over Danny's shoulders. "A little smaller than you would have imagined, huh?" She waved a hand over Danny's head until he slapped her hand away.

"Yes, I'm Phantom." Danny rubbed his neck, feeling mildly embarrassed at the excitement in the ghost's voice. "But now I need to ask you some questions about what happened the other night." The ghost acted differently than when they were at the bank. He was calmer now, nodding to Danny as he waited for the questions. Danny frowned when he noted the ghost no longer had the strange dark veins spreading from his eyes. "Why were you trying to rob the bank?"

"I did what?" The ghost gasped, utterly confused by the question put to him. He reached up, scratching a hand through his hair. "I don't really understand. What bank? Why would I want to rob a bank anyway? I have no need for mortal money."

"What exactly do you remember?" Danny's shoulders drooped. Would he receive no answers from this ghost after all?

"Hm." The ghost rubbed at his chin. "I remember being in my lair, minding my own business. I don't like getting into trouble, so I usually avoid some of the, uh, louder ghosts. And then there was this, like," he fumbled for how to describe it, "tug. It was like something hooked into my belly and yanked me. Then," the ghost shrugged, "I'm not sure. Everything got kind of tunnel vision, and it was making my head hurt too much. It was easier to just close myself off to that."

"I'm guessing that wasn't very helpful," Ember said. Normally, she played things off with a joke, but she frowned with concerned.

"Can you think of anything?" Danny asked.

Ember shook her head. "No, but I can ask around and see if that kind of thing sounds familiar to anyone."

"Thanks." Danny's mouth twitched in a small smile. "Now I have to figure out what to do with-"

"I won't cause any harm!" the ghost insisted earnestly. "I just want to go back home and not be in anyone's way."

"I can ship him back to the Ghost Zone, if you want," Ember offered. "We can put a watch on him. Just in case it happens again," she added to the ghost when he looked like he would protest. "If it does, we need someone there to witness it. I mean, if it happened to him, what's to say it won't happen to other ghosts? This could be a serious thing that all ghosts need to know about."

Danny nodded. "That's a good idea." He would have liked to get some answers, but he couldn't detect any lie in what the ghost told him. If the ghost couldn't give him any more information about what happened, Danny had no reason to keep him trapped in the Thermos. "Oh, and Ember," he pointed a finger in her face, "make sure you remind all the ghosts that this apartment is off limits. I don't want any more of you popping in here to spook me when my roommates might see."

Ember sighed, rolling her eyes like the request was a giant burden to her, but she agreed. After Danny released the ghost from the shield, Ember left with him. Danny put the shield and Thermos back in his closet then collapsed back on his bed. If he was lucky, he would get a few more hours of sleep before he needed to get up for the day.

"Yo, Fenton!"

Danny groaned at the wakeup call almost three hours after Ember left his room. A bang jerked him to full wakefulness as he sat up in his bed. He completely forgot about putting the chair in front of the door to prevent his roommates from entering his room. Scrambling out of bed, he rushed over to the door and quickly removed the chair.

"Hey, Dash!" Danny laughed awkwardly, opening the door only part way to hide the chair. "What's up?"

"Why was the door blocked?" Dash frowned, his brow knitting in a look of puzzlement.

"Ah, well, you know," Danny bit his tongue, thinking hard for an explanation, "after last night, I was feeling a little self-conscious. I just," he shrugged, "didn't want to have you or Kwan walking in on me with my shirt off. It's silly, but-"

Dash shook his head. "I just wanted to make sure you were up. We're going to leave after breakfast, so make sure you have your costume on."

Danny stared blankly. "Oh, right! The hospital!" He nearly smacked himself when he remembered.

"You can still back out if you want."

"No, no." Danny shook his head. "Just woke up, so, you know, brain's a little slow."

Dash nodded slowly. "Well, don't take too long. Kwan should have breakfast finished soon."

Once Dash turned away, Danny closed the door and released his breath, glad the other man didn't push about the door being blocked. He moved the chair back over to his desk then walked over to his closet to grab his costume. It wasn't a horribly complex costume, thankfully. He would have no trouble if he needed to take a bathroom break. He shrugged on the final piece of his costume: a long red leather coat. When he was ready, he strolled out of his room, wondering what his roommates' costumes would be.

"Starlord!" Kwan grinned as he served scrambled eggs onto a plate. He wore a classic pirate costume with a navy blue jacket. His hat with a large feather sticking out of it sat over on the armrest of the couch, waiting for when they were ready to leave for the hospital. Danny had to admit Kwan made quite the dashing swashbuckler.

"You know him?" Danny lifted an eyebrow as he walked over to join the other man and lend a hand with breakfast.

"Oh yeah," Kwan answered with a small chuckle. "We always liked comics. Dash wanted them to make a Phantom comic."

Danny laughed, hoping he hid his awkwardness. A comic made about him, or rather his alter ego? It sounded neat, but he also worried about the story they would craft based on him. Would the writers give him a human identity? What would that character be like? He couldn't imagine it resembling him in any way.

"Let's eat!" Dash clapped his hands as he came out of his room looking like Captain America. Danny nearly swallowed his tongue because it was like his childhood hero stepped right out of the comics. Dash paused halfway over to them and glanced Danny over before a smirk slipped onto his face. "I guess we had the same idea."

Danny hunched up one shoulder. "You can't go wrong with comic book heroes." He poured three glasses of orange juice then carried them over to the table. Dash and Kwan took care of bringing over their plates of breakfast.

"I tried to convince Kwan, but he was dead set on the pirate idea." Dash rolled his eyes then stuffed a forkful of egg into his mouth.

"I liked the costume," Kwan muttered, pushing out his lower lip in a slight pout.

"Pirates are always good too." Danny took a gulp of his orange juice. "Jazz looked really good when she dressed as one a few years back." They chatted on past Halloween costume ideas as they ate. When they finished breakfast, they washed their dishes.

"You can carry this." Dash dumped a large box he got from his room into Danny's arms as they were getting ready to leave the apartment. "Don't look inside."

"It's not a bomb, is it?" Danny frowned at the box. He knew it was ridiculous, obviously not a bomb, but being told not to look inside only increased his curiosity.

"It's nothing dangerous. Just part of the surprise." Kwan nudged him with an elbow, smiling as he held his own box.

"All right. Let's hit the road." Dash led the way out of the apartment with a third box in his arms. After locking up, they headed down to the parking garage then to Dash's car where they loaded the boxes into the trunk.


	14. Chapter 14

Dash glanced over to Fenton when they reached the pediatric ward of the hospital. He tried not to smirk at the surprise on Fenton's face, but it was fairly amusing to see. The decorations may not be the best, but the children worked hard for the past two weeks to put everything together. Their costumes varied from expensive store bought to the cheap white sheet with holes cut out for eyes. He saw one of the preteens remove the alien horn hair band she wore to give to a younger child who lacked any costume at all, and another child lent a cape. Dash always found it touching to watch the children making sure they all were able to participate and have fun.

"Who's ready for games?" Dash asked and received cheers from the children in response.

He and Kwan worked with the staff ahead of time to set up some game ideas, though what they could do was limited. They managed to set up a small maze in the lobby area, which had little bats and ghosts dangling along the path. It wasn't as scary as many haunted house attractions Dash visited, but they didn't want to scare the children. They just wanted a little fun for the children. They weren't allowed to do bobbing for apples, but the nurses allowed them to bring an inflatable kiddy pool that they filled with plastic balls and hid little bags of candy in for the children to fish out.

"So what are in the boxes?" Fenton questioned quietly once he was over his surprise and ready to join in with giving the children a fun Halloween experience. Even though he meant the question to be just to his fellow teachers, the children nearest to them nearly swarmed forward.

"Oh, oh! Me! I want one!" several of the children cried out, raising their hands. They were mostly the younger children. The older children and preteens stood back, not because they were uninterested in the gifts Dash brought for them but because they wanted to let the younger children take first pick.

"There's plenty to go around," Dash told them with a chuckle as he got down on one knee then pried open his box.

"Children, don't crowd him," a nurse instructed with a mild stern stare when a few of the children reached for the box. "He'll pass them out if you wait patiently." The eager children backed up a step, a few bowing their heads.

Dash smiled lopsidedly. "What does everyone want?" He pulled back the flaps of the box to reveal the teddy bears he spent many nights working on to finish in time. When he heard a gasp, he tossed a glance over his shoulder to see Fenton with his mouth comically hanging open. The costumed teddy bears were probably the last thing Fenton imagined to be in the boxes.

"Can I have a princess one, please?" a little girl dressed up in a sparkly powder blue dress questioned shyly.

Dash nodded as he searched the box for the requested teddy bear. He tried to create as many options as possible. There were doctors and firemen. He made princes to go with the princesses. Some dressed like fairies and others dressed like musicians. After a gentle nudge, Kwan and Fenton opened their own boxes and helped pass out the teddy bears as the children called out which one they wanted. Dash smiled when he saw quite a few of the children circling around Fenton and asking him questions.

Once the teddy bears were all handed out, one for each child, the three men led the children to lobby for the games. Maybe it came from having a younger sibling, but Dash couldn't imagine celebrating Halloween without hearing the laughter of children. He let one little blonde girl climb onto his back and carried her around so she wouldn't have to put too much weight on an injured leg.

Four hours later, Dash was biting his tongue hard to keep from laughing as he watched a few children paint designs on Kwan's face. One of the stern nurses kept a close eye on them to ensure none of the preteens decided to act like complete juveniles and paint something inappropriate on anyone. Turning away, Dash set his sights on locating Fenton. He hated to admit it, but he couldn't get the other man off his mind. How could he? Those scars on Fenton weren't something he could simply erase from his mind. Dash knew he hurt Fenton in the past. He didn't exactly hold back when he pounded his fists into the other man. But at that time, it never occurred to him the scars he could have left on Fenton.

Someone else left those scars. Dash's stomach dropped every time he thought about it. He hated the idea that any of those scars were because of him. But some unknown jerk who could have left Fenton nearly dead multiple times over? It made Dash unreasonably angry. He had no right to be angry, not when he was horrible to Fenton himself.

"Speaking of," Dash murmured when he didn't see Fenton anywhere. Wondering where the other man wandered off to, Dash went to look for him, which was delayed on occasion by some children wanting him to play with them. He turned down the hall and nearly rammed into someone. He caught hold of the young man by the shoulders to help steady him. "Jeremy!" Dash blinked in surprise. He didn't like the exhaustion on the teenager's face. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh," Jeremy shifted, not meeting Dash's gaze, "just visiting my sister." He reached up a hand, rubbing the back of his neck. "She got sick recently, and well, it's kind of weird not having her around because I always take my younger siblings out trick-or-treating. But this year she won't be able to go, so," he shrugged, "I thought I'd least come by and drop off a little treat for her."

Dash patted the teenager's shoulder. "I'm sure the doctors are working very hard to help her get better."

Jeremy nodded, but uncertainty flickered in his eyes. "Um, well, I should probably get going. Homework to do and all that before tonight."

Dash nodded. "Take care." He parted ways with Jeremy, not wanting to take up too much of his time. He remembered as a teenager it always felt like time was too short when he had lots of things to get done. He continued down the hall, seeking out Fenton. He eventually managed to find the missing teacher when he poked his head into one of the hospital rooms. He opened his mouth ready to yell at Fenton, but something stopped him. He frowned as he watched his roommate.

"It's not that bad," Fenton explained softly. "I know it's really scary. There's no shame in being scared. But-" He lowered his voice even further, and despite straining his hearing, Dash couldn't pick up what was said. When the young boy nodded, Fenton's mouth twitched slightly in a smile as he squeezed the boy's hand.

"Thanks, Mr. Fenton." The boy smiled, clutching his teddy bear to his chest.

Fenton shook his head. "I don't need thanks, but you're welcome." He got up from the bed, the boy already drifting off to sleep for a nap. He walked over to the doorway then nearly jumped when he lifted his head to see Dash standing there.

"What was that all about?" Dash lifted a curious eyebrow as Fenton stepped out of the room with a hand over his heart.

"The kid was getting tired so I offered to take him back to his room." Fenton shrugged as they walked down the hall. "So we talked a little. He's a nice kid."

Dash's eyebrow remained lifted as skepticism flickered in his eyes. He couldn't explain why, but he didn't think Fenton was being completely honest with him. His thoughts were interrupted when Fenton nudged his elbow in the blond man's ribs.

"Nice job on those teddy bears," Fenton said, grinning. "You must have worked really hard to get so many of them finished in time."

Dash laughed awkwardly, his cheeks flushing pink. "Ah, well, you know, just picked them up from the store. No biggie."

Fenton cocked an eyebrow then snorted. "Dude, come on." He slapped the back of his hand against Dash's arm. "I know hand stitching when I see it. My dad started me on needlepoint when I was, like, ten. You don't need to be embarrassed about it. Those teddy bears, their costumes, were amazing. And you made all the children here happy. That's something to be proud of, not ashamed of."

"Now you're just being embarrassing," Dash muttered, not looking at Fenton. His face felt too hot, and he hated that. "Well, after we grab Kwan, we can head back to the apartment. There's a few more finishing touches to setup before the party."

Fenton pulled up the sleeve of his leather coat, which looked ridiculously good on him, and checked the time on his watch. "It's still pretty early."

"Yeah, but it'll give us a bit of down time to relax before guests show up." Dash chuckled. "Plus I think Kwan's going to need to do some washing up."

Fenton gave him a confused look until they returned to the lobby area where Kwan waited. Then he bit his lower lip, struggling not to laugh at the designs painted on Kwan's face. "I see what you mean," he mumbled, barely managing not to laugh.

Kwan looked up then smiled when he saw them. "Want these little artists to paint something for you?"

Dash shook his head. Sometimes, he couldn't deal with how nice his friend was. Honestly, what did he ever do to deserve such a great friend? He acted like the biggest jerk in the world all throughout high school, but Kwan always stuck by him. Dash tried not to show it, but he always thought Kwan deserved a better friend than him, even if he tried to become a better person after high school.

"We should head out," Dash answered to the disappointment of a few children still lingering around Kwan. "Maybe next time." He grinned as he ruffled the dark hair of one eight year old boy. After many hugs and goodbyes, the three teachers managed to escape the pediatrics ward. He loved it, honestly, but the goodbyes at the end were always hard. He preferred avoiding it and making a fast getaway to the car. If they didn't, they might get sucked into spending the whole day and late into the evening at the hospital.

"What did you think?" Kwan asked once they were back at the car.

"It was fun." Fenton bobbed his head, opening the back door. His gaze darted toward Dash. "Though I am surprised this is what you do for Halloween. I just," he shrugged, averting his gaze with perhaps a hint of nervousness, "never imagined you doing this kind of thing."

"Well, like you said," Dash grinned over the top of the car, "we didn't really know anything about each other in high school." He climbed into the driver's seat and shoved his key into the ignition. He was discovering Fenton was a pretty all right guy. He fought a flush as he started the car. Fenton could have easily teased him about sewing the teddy bears for the children at the hospital. It was something Dash would have done in high school, poking fun at someone else. But Fenton actually told him to be proud of his skill. Dash waited for the other two men to buckle up before he backed out of the parking spot. No way was he ever admitting it made him feel good to have Fenton praising him like that.

They headed back to their apartment, discussing what to make for lunch. They didn't take a break to eat a lunch while at the hospital, and all three of them began to feel the pangs of hunger. Since they spent most of previous night preparing snacks for the party, none of them were particularly in the mood to cook anything. Kwan made the suggestion of picking something up on the way back, and Dash and Fenton agreed happily. They picked a place, and Kwan hopped out to get their order.

"It's no Nasty Burger," Dash commented with a sigh as he looked up at the burger joint, "but it's the best substitute they have here."

Fenton cracked a small grin. "I don't miss the swirly specials though."

Dash winced. "Uh, yeah, um," he shifted awkwardly in the driver's seat, "sorry about those."

Fenton shook his head. "Water under the bridge." It was almost frustrating how he could just shrug it off like all of Dash's past actions weren't completely horrible. Dash kind of wanted to see the man get angry at him for all of it, but he guessed it might break their tentative friendship. A buzzing interrupted them, and Fenton dug into his pants pocket to grab his phone. He stared at the screen, the seconds ticking by at a snail's pace. Then his expression fell, his brow creasing and pain shining in his eyes.

"What was that?" Dash nearly kicked himself for falling into his old nosy habits. Whatever the message was, it was something private, and he knew he had no right prodding at the other man for information. But he couldn't help himself sometimes.

"Nothing." Fenton shoved his phone back into his pocket and forced a grin to his face. It was the fakest thing Dash could ever recall seeing. "Just a goodbye from someone."

Dash stopped himself before he could ask who sent the message. Fenton didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it, and his expression left Dash with a hollow feeling inside. Thankfully, Kwan arrived back at the car, grinning with the bags of burgers and fries for their lunch. Dash happily joined in chatting with Kwan as he drove them to their apartment. Fenton piped up every once and a while, but he seemed distracted after getting the message on his phone. Dash _tried_ to put any worries out of his mind.


	15. Chapter 15

Something definitely happened while he was inside grabbing their lunch. Dash and Danny acted normal enough as they chatted on the way back to the apartment, but something was different now. Kwan could sense it. Dash kept flicking his gaze to the rearview mirror to glance at Danny, who wasn't quite as chatty as he normally was. It set Kwan on edge, not knowing what he could say or do to fix whatever went wrong. He didn't even know what his roommates talked about while he was away from the car. Anything he said could potentially make it worse, he realized with a heavy feeling weighing on him.

It was almost a relief when they arrived back at their apartment and could focus their attention on the remaining decorations they still needed to put up before the party. The apartment already looked pretty good with the spider webs strung around the ceiling and walls. Black drapes covered the walls, making the whole apartment feel darker. They set up tables against the walls for the snacks and beverages, and decorating the tables were jack-o-lanterns and skulls topped with candles. The edges of the tables were lined with leaves, fake of course, with plastic spiders crawling through them. They moved out the coffee table in front of the couch and set up a coffin with a skeleton hand peeking out through the slightly opened lid. A recording was inside the coffin, occasionally blasting out a creepy laugh, which always sent shivers down Kwan's spine.

"So are you going to pick up your date?" Kwan questioned, dunking a few fries into a blob of ketchup.

Danny shook his head, wiping his hands clean on a napkin. "I gave her directions. She didn't want me to feel obligated to take her home if she decided to leave early or if it got late." He frowned slightly. "But I'd worry about her going home alone if it gets too late."

"Of course," Dash said after swallowing a mouthful of burger. "It's only natural to be concerned about her well being. Especially on a night like Halloween. More weirdos out and about."

Kwan leaned toward Dash. "I don't think saying things like that helps," he murmured, tossing a glance toward Danny. "I look forward to meeting her though. And your date too." He grinned at Dash, who produced only the slightest hint of a blush.

"We should have gotten you a date too." Dash shoved his friend away, pointedly not looking at him.

Kwan chuckled. "We have plenty of people coming to the party. I'm sure I'll meet someone." He picked up his soda and sipped from the straw. He wasn't exactly looking for someone to date, but he kept that little detail to himself. "Okay. I'm going to go wash up." He gestured to his face with one hand. "Love the kids, but I don't really want all this paint on my face for the party."

Dash cracked a grin. "No, you probably don't."

Kwan rolled his eyes, half tempted to be childish and stick out his tongue at his friend. After the children at the hospital finished painting his face, Kwan didn't get the chance to see what exactly they painted. From the amusement on Dash's face, though, Kwan assumed it was on the embarrassing side. Heat rose to his cheeks as he remembered entering the burger joint with his face painted. _No wonder that group of girls was giggling at me_ , he thought, just barely managing not to groan while wishing to just disappear. He climbed to his feet then walked toward the bathroom.

Once the door closed, he released a tired sigh, rubbing at his eyes. Dates. Why did Ms. Burke have to suggest bringing along a friend to introduce to Dash? Shaking his head, Kwan looked at his reflection in the mirror. Pink hearts, flowers, rainbows, and a unicorn decorated nearly every inch of his face.

"They really went all out this time," he murmured as he turned on the water. After wetting a cloth, he got to work wiping his face clean. What kind of woman was Dash's date? Kwan smacked himself before he could start envisioning what the woman would look like. "Probably gorgeous." He dried off his face then tossed the towel into the laundry basket.

_Just smile and pretend everything is great_ , Kwan told himself as he exited the bathroom. _Just be happy Kwan_. He did it every day, and today was no different. Maybe it was a little different, but he could work through it. Dash and Danny were already working on their last minute decoration details when Kwan walked back into the room. Maybe not everything in his life was perfect, but at least his roommates seemed to be getting along even after the whole thing about Danny's scars. He stared at the other man for a good long moment. Danny didn't want them to worry about him, but Kwan couldn't get the idea out of his head that Danny would stumble into the apartment one evening half dead and bleeding everywhere. Pushing the horrifying image from his mind, he joined his roommates, helping to get things perfect for the party. They had a few hours after they finished to relax before the first guests arrived.

"Welcome to the parrrrrrrty!" Kwan greeted, doing his best pirate impersonation when he opened the door.

"Cute," the woman said with a light chuckle.

Kwan blinked, taken aback when he didn't recognize the guest. "Uh, sorry. I'm Kwan." He held out a hand to her. "You are?"

"Hayley," she answered, shaking his hand. "You must be one of Danny's roommates." She brushed a lock of her long black hair behind an ear. Her bangs were swept to one side, and a blue bow tied back her hair in a half ponytail.

Kwan bobbed his head. "Yup. You're costume," he said, closing the apartment door as he tried to put his finger on why it looked familiar.

"I'm Ariel," Hayley said, smoothing down the blue skirt of her costume. "You know," her dark brown cheeks flushed lightly, "the Little Mermaid."

"Oh!" Kwan's smacked his forehead. "Of course! That's why it's familiar." He watched the movie probably a hundred times thanks to Dash's younger sister.

"It would probably be more recognizable if I wore the whole purple seashell bra and tail."

Kwan shook his head. "You look beautiful in that dress." He laughed awkwardly. "Though perhaps I should leave the compliments for Danny to make. And speaking of him, I'm sure he's around here somewhere." He led Hayley through the crowd already gathered in their apartment for the party. They found Danny over by the drinks, placing out some new test tubes of his ectoplasm drink.

"Hayley!" Danny greeted, plastering a big smile on his face. "I'm glad you could make it."

"The place looks great," Hayley said, her brown eyes drifting around the room to take it all in.

"Danny was a big help in getting everything set up," Kwan put in, nudging his roommate with his elbow. "He even made this drink for the party." He picked up one of the test tubes and offered it to Hayley, who eyed it somewhat skeptically. After glancing between the couple, Kwan winced. "Right. I should leave the two of you alone now. Don't mind me." He backed away to give them some alone time.

"You're Ariel looks amazing," Danny told her, earning a bright blush from his date.

"After talking on our date, I kind of got it in my head to try acting," Hayley said, chewing on her lower lip in a nervous habit. "It's not exactly the same as ballet, but I think I can do it. There's a little theater group putting on a production of The Little Mermaid, so I thought I would try out for it."

"I bet you'll be really great at it. If you get the part, you'll have to tell me when opening night is so I can come watch."

"Of course! Um," Hayley winced, "I'm afraid I don't know who you're supposed to be."

"Peter Quill." Danny grinned, striking a pose as he held the lapels of his leather coat. "Though you may also know me as Starlord."

"Nope. Sorry." Hayley laughed as Danny sighed, shoulders slumping in mock disappointment. "But Starlord? Hm." With a small grin, she placed a finger to her mouth in thought. "I'm guessing he has something to do with space at least. That seems pretty fitting with your whole space obsession."

"Space obsession?" Kwan repeated then winced. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help his curiosity at what kind of woman Danny was seeing.

"Ah, yeah." Danny rubbed the back of his neck with an embarrassed blush. "I wanted to be astronaut when I was younger, so I would try to learn everything I could about space."

Kwan's eyebrows were inching toward his hairline. "I didn't know about that." Of course he didn't. They weren't friends back in high school, after all.

Thankfully, another knock on the door saved him from embarrassing himself further. He excused himself then waded through the party guests to the door. Opening the door, he greeted the newly arrived guests with a friendly smile. The awkward moment aside, the party so far was going great. He caught sight of Danny with his date, both seeming to be having a good time. Every once and a while, one or the other would blush slightly, and Kwan found himself wondering about what exactly they talked.

_I'm getting as bad as Dash_ , Kwan thought with a shake of his head. But at least Danny's mood improved since their ride home from the burger joint.

"Hey, Kwan." Dash caught up to his friend while Kwan was mingling with their guests.

"Hey." Kwan grinned, hoping it didn't look forced.

"This is Celeste," Dash introduced, gesturing to the brunette next to him. "She's Mary's friend."

"Ah," Kwan nodded, "nice to meet you."

When he looked, Kwan spotted Mary Burke across the room chatting with one of their history teachers. Mary's friend stood about six inches shorter than Dash. Celeste's brown hair draped down over her shoulders in loose ringlets. Her costume was a simple white gown with a string of gold around her waist, the ends dangling to her side. Behind spread a small pair of feathery white wings, and a gold halo hovered over her head, attached by wire to a hair band.

"Dash has already talked quite a bit about you," Celeste admitted with a pleasant smile.

"Really?" Kwan shot his friend a look. "You're supposed to talk yourself up to your date, not me," he teased with a light ribbing.

Dash chuckled as he scratched behind an ear. "Well, it's hard not to mention you when we've been friends since forever. I thought Celeste should at least be able to put a face to the name I keep talking about."

"It's not as great a face as this guy," Kwan patted his friend's shoulder, "but I don't think it's too bad." He rubbed his chin with a slight upturn of his mouth. Resting an arm on his friend's shoulder, he leaned against Dash. "Did he tell you about being the star quarterback for our high school football team? He took us to the state championship three years in a row."

Celeste raised her eyebrows, glancing Dash over. "Impressive. Did I mention I lead my school's soccer team to the state championship? We were pretty good."

"You played soccer?" Dash almost shouted but managed not to. Clearly, the topic of their past athletic feats hadn't come up yet.

"Oh, don't let the costume fool you." Celeste smirked. "I was no angel on the field."

"You two seem to have a lot to talk about," Kwan slapped his friend on the back, "so I'll leave you here." He backed away from the couple before they could think to pull him back into the conversation.

_Shit_. Kwan wished he could say they didn't look like they would make a good couple, but they did. Halloween was always their night. Dash never asked a date to come to their party. Now he had a date. Danny had a date. Both men looked happy with said dates. Kwan was mad at himself for getting upset about it. It wasn't like he didn't have options himself. He just didn't have any interest in pursuing relationships with any of those people.

He pulled out his phone when he felt it buzz. His mouth twitched when he opened the message. Valerie sent him a picture of her Halloween costume: Princess Tiana's wedding dress. With her in the picture was Paulina dressed up as Aurora, naturally in the pink version of her dress. In the background, Kwan saw Star was visiting with them, dressing up as Cinderella.

[ _Decide on disney theme?_ ]

Kwan couldn't help chuckling when he saw the picture. Valerie knew Tiana was his favorite Disney princess, and the dress looked wonderful on his friend. Her response only took moments to arrive.

[ _Paulina's idea. where r my pics? I want 2 see your costumes!_ ]

Kwan rolled his eyes. Showing off their costumes was a tradition between them. He took a quick picture of himself and sent it. Then he found Dash in the crowd, snapping a picture of him for Valerie. After considering it for a moment, he sent a picture of Danny too. When his phone buzzed again, he couldn't help the smirk stretching across his face.

[ _great cost- IS DASH WITH A GIRL? WAIT! IS THAT DANNY?!_ ]

A laugh escaped him, and Kwan covered his mouth with his hand until he could wipe the smirk of his face.

[ _Did i forget to mention Danny is a teacher at the same school as Dash and I? probably should also tell u he's living in our apartment_.]

Kwan blinked when his phone rang instead of buzzing to alert him of another text message. "Yes?"

"How long has he been living there?" Valerie demanded. "Why are you just telling me about this now?"

Kwan slipped into his bedroom for some privacy. "Not too long, and I guess I didn't think it was a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" Valerie scoffed. "You're only living with the guy whose life Dash made a living hell during high school. But no, why would that be a big deal?"

"Okay. Maybe it's a little bit of a big deal. But they've been working on becoming friends, so we haven't had any huge fights yet." Kwan was a little worried when the whole scars thing came up, but thankfully, Dash didn't press the topic too hard. The whole thing was suspicious, though. How could Danny hide so many injuries without his family knowing about them? Did his family know?

"I'm not sure I trust that this will go well." Valerie was clearly frowning skeptically. "But I'll put a pin in that for now. What the heck is this picture of Dash with some woman? He's never had a date at one of your parties."

"It's not like we assumed he'd be forever single," Kwan reminded with a sad smile. "Anyway, one of our fellow teachers wanted him to meet her friend, so she brought her along to the party." He sighed, sliding down to sit on the floor with his back pressed against the door. "I always knew nothing was going to happen between us. I just, you know," he hunched up his shoulders, "have to finally move on." But he simply couldn't seem to actually bring himself to do the whole moving on thing.

"Do you want me to come for a visit? I can totally visit if you want. I'll be your wing person."

"Thank, Val." Kwan smiled somewhat with his head bowed. "It's not - You don't really have to come. But thanks."


	16. Chapter 16

The day went surprisingly well, though Danny remained on edge while waiting for midnight to strike. During the party, only one problem popped up, and he managed to excuse himself and slip into the hall, dragging a certain obnoxious hunter with him. Several ghosts were willing to obey his wishes and keep their distance. Skulker wasn't one of them, always determined to win the contest.

"You failed," Danny said bluntly once they were alone in the hall. "You didn't spook me, so please leave. I don't want you making any trouble."

"You couldn't have just let me get you?" Skulker grumped, folding his arms. "I had this whole plan. I wasn't going to ruin your silly little party."

"You should have done like Ember and come this morning." A crooked smirk slipped onto Danny's face, watching the confusion turn to anger in the ghost's eyes.

"She beat me to it?" Skulker growled, and Danny took a step back in case the hunter decided to take a swing at him. "She thinks she can beat me this year. I'll show her I'm the best hunter!"

Danny rolled his eyes, doubting he would ever understand their relationship. But part of him did hope Ember would show Skulker up this year. The hunter could become beyond annoying when he bragged about his victories. "Here's an idea." He smirked at the wicked idea which slipped into his mind. "No one's ever spooked Vlad for the contest. Imagine what the other ghosts will say if you turned up to the contest counting with Vlad's token?"

The gears were working in the ghost's head. After a moment, a devious expression spread onto Skulker's face. "Now there's a challenge I'll happily accept."

Danny held back a relieved sigh, glad Skulker took the bait. "Better get a move on then. Halloween's getting close to being over."

Skulker nodded. Then after a quick glance around the hallway, he vanished from human sight to make his way to Vlad's castle in Wisconsin. Once the ghost was gone, Danny released his breath. Giving the hunter a bigger target usually worked to get Skulker to leave, but it wasn't always a one hundred percent for sure thing. Danny waited one more moment, reaching out with his ghost sense to check the area inside and surrounding the apartment building. When he couldn't sense any other ghosts, he entered the apartment to rejoin the party.

The day went by swiftly, and Danny almost had trouble keeping up after they reached the hospital. He still couldn't believe Dash and Kwan spent the morning of their Halloweens at the hospital entertaining sick children. His opinion of Dash from high school was a poor one of a bully and a jerk. But the more time he spent with the two friends, Danny saw how much they both matured since their high school days. Who could have guessed Dash cared about spending some of his time making sick children happy?

The whole thing was a little overwhelming. Danny dealt with ghosts ever since he was fourteen. Ghosts he could handle. Being swarmed by a bunch of children was an entirely different thing. He never had so many small children grabbing hold of him and asking him questions and tugging him around and wanting him to play. It was exhausting but fun, though he couldn't see himself doing it more than a few times a year.

But the experience wasn't all happy. Danny frowned as he recalled the little boy he met. At times like that, he almost hated his ghost powers. It never seemed fair for someone so young-

"There you are!"

Danny jerked out of his thoughts when Hayley appeared before him. "Oh, hey. I'm sorry I kind of ditched you there for a moment." He rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck.

Hayley waved it off with a smile. "It's okay. This is a party, and you're one of the hosts. I suspected you would probably have to step away sometimes." She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, and Danny relaxed a little. "I just talked with your roommate for a bit while you were gone."

"Oh, Kwan?" Danny could trust him to make sure Hayley felt comfortable.

"Uh, no, the other one. Um, Dash?" She winced, biting her lip in uncertainty. "Is that really his name?"

Danny chuckled, though a surge of panic raced through him. "I think it's most likely a nickname that just stuck with him. Uh, he didn't say or do anything embarrassing, right?"

"Oh, just stripped naked and ran around the apartment." Hayley laughed, hiding her mouth behind a hand at what was probably a comically shocked expression on her date. "I'm kidding." She reached over and nudged his arm. "You know what a joke is, right?"

"Right." Danny breathed out, relieved. He probably didn't need the image of naked Dash burned into his brain.

"You okay? Because, really, all we did was chat. His girlfriend was even there with us." Hayley nervously brushed back a lock of her black hair. "If you were worried that maybe I would-"

"Oh! No, no!" Danny shook his head, though it wouldn't surprise him if a woman chose Dash over him. "I wasn't worried about that. It's just," he rubbed at his forehead, "been a pretty long day."

"Oh." Hayley frowned, her gaze drifting away for a moment. "I guess I should probably go."

"Wait! No! I didn't mean you had to leave." Danny panicked. Did he just say the wrong thing again? Why did he always suck at this dating thing?

Haylay laughed with a shake of her head. "It's not you. It's getting pretty late, and most people have already gone." Glancing around the apartment, only a handful of guests remained, and many of them seemed to have the same idea as Hayley. "And I already called a friend, who was in the area, to pick me up. She should be here soon."

"Ah, uh, at least let me walk you down then?" Danny led the way then held the door open for his date. They walked down to the ground floor, Danny chewing on his lip with each step. "I guess a big party isn't exactly the greatest second date idea," he admitted when they were almost to the ground floor. "Because it's loud and other people kept coming up to talk."

Hayley shook her head. "It was fine. Fun!" She smiled when Danny again held the door open for her. "I had a great time. Even if we had to shout a little to be heard. And you," she wagged a finger at him, "are a pretty good dancer."

"You should thank my friends for that," Danny said with a laugh. "Sam's way better than me, though she used to act like she hated dancing. Or maybe it was just the whole social convention of school dances."

"She?"

"Ah," Danny tried not to wince, "she's just a friend. You don't have to worry about an old flame or anything like that."

Hayley nodded then, after a moment, she bowed her head, rubbing at her forehead. "I hope you don't think I was asking because I'm going to start acting all jealous and suspicious of every woman you know or even just talk to."

"I wasn't thinking that." Danny turned as a car pulled up to the curb in front of them.

"And that's my ride." Hayley stared at the navy blue Prius then turned back to Danny with a small smile. "I guess this is good night."

Danny hesitated. "Next time, maybe we could do something without so many people around. Weekdays are a little iffy for me, but I'd try to make it work if you wanted to go out again during the week. Otherwise, maybe next Saturday, we could do something?"

"I'd like that." Hayley leaned in, laying a quick peck on Danny's lips. "Call me when you decide."

"I'll - Then - Yup." Danny bobbed his head, snapping his mouth shut before he babbled out any more rambling. Hayley laughed as she climbed into her friend's car. Danny waved, watching Hayley and her friend drive away. When the car was out of sight, he slapped a hand to his forehead. "Smooth, Danny. Real smooth."

With a shake of his head, he turned to enter the apartment building. A black cat sat before the front entrance, staring up at him with eyes that glowed. A cold spike a panic stabbed into Danny at the sight of this seemingly harmless cat. Slowly, he released his breath, placing a hand over his chest where his heart still beat quickly. He crouched down before the cat, and he doubted he would ever get used to the eerie way the cat stared.

"You enjoy being creepy, don't you?" Danny sighed when the cat barely even blinked. "Not a friendly one. All right. Lead the way." He stood up as the cat sprang into action, darting down the street. "Here we go," Danny mumbled then he followed after the cat.

It took him down several streets, making turns here and there until Danny felt certain he was getting lost. Then they reached a dead end in a deserted area. From what he could see, there were no security cameras to catch them on tape either. It was a good spot to open a portal. For a minute, the cat merely stood there at the end of the alley. Then in a growing swirl, a portal opened on the brick wall. The cat didn't hesitate to jump through the portal. Danny glanced around one last time before he hopped through the portal too.

On the other side of the portal, Danny landed on a smooth, polished floor which was so dark green it almost looked black with stripes of bright green twisting throughout the floor. An impossibly tall tree grew from the center of the area, and the branches stretched out for miles. Danny still found the sight imposing even after over ten years later. The cat led the way toward the base of the tree, and Danny followed, shifting to ghost form as he walked.

While he was still in high school, he happened upon this spot during his exploration of the Ghost Zone. He couldn't even remember exactly how he found it, and later attempts proved impossible to discover the island again. It either moved or had some kind of special cloaking around it. He never figured out which exactly.

Danny halted when they arrived at the base of the tree. The cat leaped up onto the shoulder of a woman, and Danny gulped nervously. He met her that first time he found the island, and admittedly, she scared him. Her skin was pale blue, not entirely uncommon among ghosts. But her face was scarred, at least half of it. In some places the skin looked eaten away, showing off bone. Her red eye stared unblinkingly without eyelids. The scarring stretched down her throat, disappearing behind the neckline of her dress. Her right arm showed bone through holes in her skin as well, and her hand was entirely bone. Her black hair hung down over his shoulders. She reached up with her good hand to scratch behind the cat's ears.

"It's always a pleasure seeing you," she said, the part of her mouth that wasn't scarred or torn away twitching in an amused smile. During their first encounter, she explained how she ferried the souls of the dead to the beyond in what people would call "crossing over," basically the souls with no strong inclination to linger as ghosts. Danny feared, at that time, she would ferry him away, even if he wasn't fully dead. According to her, though, Danny could expect a long and full life.

"Nice to see you too, Gertrude." Danny bowed his head, resisting the urge to call her "Gertie" when he knew she disliked it.

"Always so polite." She let out a small laugh. "But I believe there's someone else you're here to see." She turned, and behind her, Danny spotted the little boy from the hospital. It was like a knife in the heart, but he knew the moment he met the boy that this would be how things ended.

Danny smiled when the boy spotted him and grinned brightly. He crouched down as the boy raced over to them. "Hey, kiddo." He reached out and ruffled the boy's hair. "How was it?"

"I tried not to be scared," his cheeks flushed dark green, "but I was a little. You were right. It did kinda feel like I just closed my eyes and went to sleep. I didn't even feel when it happened. When I opened my eyes, I was here, and the nice lady told me you'd come."

"I promised to see you off, didn't I?" Danny crossed his arms over his knees. He doubted he would ever get used to this aspect of his life, but he tried his best to make the passing easier on young children. "Are you ready? I know Gertrude can get a little impatient if her schedule is held up too long." He glanced up and caught a scowl on Gertrude's face.

The boy, Isaac, hesitated, biting on his lip as he hugged a teddy bear dressed like a doctor to his chest. "If I go, that means I can never see my parents again? Or my friends?"

Danny frowned, the question like a punch to the stomach. "I'm afraid not. Once you cross over, there's no coming back." He hated that look now gracing Isaac's face, the panic and fear, the pain of never seeing loved ones again. He saw it many times before when he met children at this island.

Then Isaac nodded, a sense of understanding in his eyes. "Can you thank Mr. Baxter for the teddy bear? I really liked it."

Danny nodded with a small smile. "Of course. I can do that."

Isaac hugged him suddenly, almost knocking Danny over onto his back. They hugged for several minutes before Gertrude coughed, impatiently. Isaac pulled away then looked up to Gertrude. "I'm ready to go," he said, holding up a hand to her.

Gertrude smiled kindly as she took his hand. "I'll see you again, Daniel."

"I hope not too soon." Danny stood, watching as Gertrude led Isaac toward the tree where many other spirits ready to cross over waited. "Okay," he said, dropping his gaze to the black cat sitting in front of him. "Take me home."

The cat lifted its head with a sniff. Danny was certain the cat didn't like him. But it darted past him, heading away from the large tree. Near the edge of the island, the cat came to a halt as the portal opened in front of it. Danny shifted to invisible as he jumped through the portal. The experience left him feeling drained, and he looked forward to crawling into bed once he got back to the apartment.


	17. Chapter 17

Dash wouldn't admit it to anyone. He was supposed to be the cool guy who could sweep women off their feet with his charm. At least, it was the role he tried to play throughout high school. But blind dates were like his kryptonite. He knew nothing about the woman his fellow teacher brought to the party as his date, and that fact made him a touch nervous. He didn't want to say anything stupid or embarrassing to the woman, which would, of course, get back to Ms. Burke. He had a good relationship with her, both during and outside of work. He didn't want to ruin that because Ms. Burke's friend had a bad date experience with him.

"You and your friend must be very close," Celeste mentioned at one point after Ms. Burke first introduced them.

Dash almost choked on his drink but managed to swallow it somewhat smoothly. It never occurred to him until she pointed it out that he talked about Kwan a lot to other people. But how could he not? They were best friends for ages and remained together even after high school graduation. Dash didn't even know what happened to Fenton's friends, and they were like the three musketeers. In high school, he rarely saw one without the other two. Most of his best memories involved Kwan in one way or another.

"So what is it you do now?" Dash asked, casting a brief glance around the room. He spotted Fenton still chatting up his date, but Kwan seemed to disappear some time after Dash introduced Celeste to him. "I don't think Mary ever told me how she knows you."

"We used to play soccer with each other back in college. Now I help design new software."

"You should-" Dash stopped himself before suggesting she talk to Kwan, who loved building all that tech stuff. He already talked enough about his friend tonight. "That's got to be pretty interesting work."

"Well, if you like coding and all that jazz." Celeste shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, or maybe she didn't want to come off too nerdy to him.

"No, it's cool," Dash assured her. "Coding always kind of went over my head. But back in high school, I used to build some automatons." He chuckled at the memory. "Freshmen year, I had to decorate a room for Halloween, and I did the whole thing with automatons." He almost let it slip that Kwan helped him with them. Why was it so difficult to talk about anything without mentioning the other man?

"I bet that looked amazing."

Dash blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, well, not that amazing. I mean, I was only fourteen at the time. My skills were pretty amateurish."

"Don't sell yourself short. To build an automaton at fourteen? That's pretty amazing to me." Celeste smiled in a way that made Dash feel a rush of heat rise to his cheeks.

"Uh, well, maybe I still have some pictures of it, but I'd have to go digging around for them."

"Maybe next time?" Celeste suggested, and Dash bobbed his head, not wanting to babble like an idiot in response.

"Hey! Wait!"

Dash turned his head at the shout. His brow creased when he spotted Fenton dragging some strange man out of their apartment. Who was that? Dash didn't recognize the man at all, but it didn't seem like Fenton was happy to see him. Maybe he should go see what that was about.

"Who was that?" Celeste asked before Dash could make a move toward the door. "A party crasher?"

"I don't know." Dash turned to look around the room. Some of the guests took notice of Fenton's leave, but most of the rest were content to continue partying like nothing happened. "We don't exactly have a strict guest list, since sometimes our co-workers and friends want to be bring dates or some other friends. But I don't recognize him, so he must be someone Fenton knows." His gaze landed on Fenton's date, who stood to the side, alone. He was on his own date, but it didn't seem right to leave the woman without some company until Fenton returned.

"What's up?" Celeste nudged his arm with a finger, drawing his attention back to her. "Your brow's kind of doing this thing." Frowning, she rubbed a finger between her eyebrows. "Is something wrong?"

"No, um-" Dash shook his head. "Sorry. It's just that," he pointed to the woman on the other side of the room, "is my roommate's date, and she doesn't really know anyone here other than him. Since he's busy at the moment, I thought maybe we could go over there." He winced when he saw Celeste lift her eyebrow. "I'm not interested in her. You're my date. And I wouldn't go behind Fenton's back to chat up his date to steal her away. But I don't want her to be uncomfortable at this party."

Celeste flicked her gaze over him. "Mary said you were a good guy, but she didn't mention just how noble you were."

Dash flushed lightly. He didn't know about being noble or anything, but he knew from his friends how awkward it could be standing alone at a party with no one to keep them company. More importantly, company that wouldn't make them feel more uncomfortable. "I just want to do what's decent."

Celeste took his arm with a smile on her face then led the way over to the other woman. Dash sighed to himself, relieved he didn't completely muck things up with his blind date. When they reached her, the other woman was trying one of the cupcakes Dash worked hard to bake and decorate for the party. He nearly puffed up his chest with pride.

"Hi," Dash greeted, and the woman almost choked on her bite of cupcake with a splash of bright green frosting on her upper lip. She held a hand up to hide her mouth as she recovered. "I'm Dash, one of Fenton's roommates. And this is my date for the evening, Celeste." He gestured to his date, still holding onto his arm.

"It's nice to meet you," Celeste said, holding out a hand. "And I love your Ariel costume."

"Hayley." She shook Celeste's hand with a light blush on her cheeks. "Thanks. I love your costume too. The wings look great."

"Thanks! It cost a little extra, but I didn't like any of those cardboard looking wings." Celeste shrugged her shoulder.

"Definitely worth the extra cost." Hayley turned her gaze to Dash. "So you're Danny's roommate? How come you call him by his last name?"

"Habit, I guess." Dash scratched at the back of his head as he considered the question. "We weren't exactly best friends during high school." He didn't want to bring up anything that might embarrass Fenton. It wouldn't win him any friendship points if he ruined things with Fenton's date. Unfortunately, most of his stories about their high school days would embarrass Fenton. "I kind of called a lot of people by their last names back then if they weren't part of my social circle. So I guess I just kept with it when Fenton came back into my life." Was that weird? Should he start calling Fenton by his first name? He almost wanted to do it just to see the man's reaction.

They continued to chat, and Dash was careful to keep his comments about Fenton positive. Hayley seemed to like Fenton well enough already, so Dash doubted the man needed him to chat him up to her. Hayley relaxed after their introductions, thankfully, and seemed like a nice, smart woman. Dash could see Fenton and Hayley making a good couple. His gaze drifted during their conversation, and he noted Kwan hadn't reappeared yet. What was he doing? Dash frowned in worry.

"So you also work with Danny?"

Dash turned his attention back to the two women. "Oh, yeah, all three of us teach at the same school. Kind of funny, huh? We haven't seen Fenton since we graduated high school. Now we live and work together." He chuckled, sometimes still finding the whole situation unbelievable.

"That's kind of neat. Meeting up again after so many years have passed."

"Ah, yeah," Dash agreed with Celeste, though he had his doubts about having Fenton move into the apartment in the beginning. Once again, Kwan proved to be in the right. Fenton was a good roommate and becoming a fairly good friend. "It's been a pretty good thing. He's a really good guy."

"Oh! Looks like he's come back," Hayley said with her gaze focused toward the door of the apartment.

"We'll stop taking up all your time then." When he glanced at his roommate, Dash frowned at the deep concentration on Fenton's face. Did it have something to do with the strange man? And was that in any way related to the fights Fenton got into in the past? It might explain why Fenton looked agitated about the man's presence before escorting him out of the apartment.

"It was very nice meeting both of you," Hayley said, smiling with a slight bow of her head.

"You too," Celeste agree. After a quick goodbye, they watched Hayley head off to meet up with Fenton again. "She was nice." Celeste stared a moment longer then dropped her gaze, checking the watch on her wrist. With a sigh, she lifted her gaze to Dash. "It's getting pretty late, and I need to drive across town to get Mary home. Plus I'm supposed to go in early tomorrow for work. It's," she rolled her eyes, "this whole thing and there's a deadline."

Dash nodded in understanding. "Should I walk the two of you down?"

The pair of them headed over to where Ms. Burke stood, looking bored as their fellow teacher, Mr. Hurst who taught photography, rambled on about, most likely, his latest gallery showing, which would surprise Dash if more than twenty people showed up to it. Mr. Hurst took some amazing pictures, but it could try a person's patience listening to his dry, monotonous voice. Ms. Burke's eyes lit up with gratitude when she saw them coming to her rescue.

"No, no." Celeste shook her head. "I'm sure you have your hands full with the rest of the guests and having to get started on clean up. This was a lovely evening though. I," she turned to Dash before they reached her friend, "wouldn't mind doing it again sometime."

"Yeah, of course," Dash agreed, nodding. "Any time you're free, just give me a call."

"I will." Celeste smiled. "Ready to go?" she asked, closing the distance between them and Ms. Burke.

"Sorry, Hank," Mr. Burke apologized to the man beside her dressed like a cliché vampire.

The man fumbled with the brownie he was eating, his fake fangs almost popping out of his mouth. "Oh, no. No need to apologize." He smiled. No one would say the man wasn't kind, but his listening to him for too long could induce a coma-like sleep. "I should be hitting the road myself. I want to head out to the lake for some new photographs to include in my next gallery showing. Coats?" Mr. Hurst looked to Dash, who winced inwardly and hoped his fellow teacher wouldn't ramble any further.

"Ah, right this way." Dash led the group to where they kept the coats during the party. Once they gathered their coats, Dash walked them to the door of the apartment. They shared a round of goodbyes, interrupted as a few other guests departed with quick goodbyes and "Great party!"

Within an hour, the apartment cleared out of the remaining guests. Dash noted Fenton's disappearance and wondered if he went off for some alone time with his date. _Go Fenton_ , he thought with a wry smirk, and he never thought he would be cheering on the man he used to bully. Life took some strange twists, but he was satisfied with where he was right now. When the apartment door opened, he glanced up from picking up some trash on the floor by the couch, half expecting to see a flustered Fenton walk into the apartment.

"Where did you disappear to?" Dash lifted an eyebrow curiously.

"Took a bag of trash down to the dumpster," Kwan explained. "It looked like the party was winding down, so I thought I'd get a jump on the clean up."

Dash nodded. Kwan usually was the first one to start on cleaning. "Did you see Fenton down there?"

Kwan frowned as he thought over the question. "Nope." He shook his head. "I saw people leaving, stopped to say goodbye and thank them for coming. But Danny wasn't anywhere around."

"Really? Hm." Dash walked over to the trash can and dumped the trash he picked up into it. Then he turned to his friend as a wicked smirk slipped across his face. "You don't think he went back to her place, do you?"

"Why would he do that?" Kwan's brow furrowed as he snatched up some plastic cups from a table.

"Oh, gee, I don't know," Dash answered sarcastically. "They wanted some privacy for something a little more intimate."

Kwan landed a flat stare at him. "It's only their second date."

"Yeah, and?" Dash rolled his eyes. "You know people don't wait until they've been dating for months before having sex. Who cares if it's only date number two as long as they're being safe about it? They're consenting adults and can decide for themselves when the time is right, and the public's opinion of whether it's too fast or not really isn't important."

"I know that!" Kwan's cheeks heated up, and he quickly looked away. "I just thought Danny was more of a third or fourth date kind of guy."

"Maybe. But when the moment's right." Dash smirked suggestively. He chuckled when Kwan tossed a crumpled napkin at him. It soared for about two inches then fluttered pathetically to the floor. "Come on. Let's get as much cleaned up as we can before we crash." He picked up a few more pieces of trash to toss in the can. Kwan walked over to the kitchen and grabbed some Tupperware to store the leftover snacks.

It was nearly midnight when they were ready to call it a night on the cleaning. The apartment looked relatively okay. The food was all stored away so none of it would spoil. Some trash lingered here and there, but they could finish cleaning and taking down the decorations in the morning. Kwan took the bathroom first to get ready for bed. Dash collapsed onto the couch and put his feet up on the coffin then leaned his head over the back of the couch as he let out an exhausted sigh. He loved Halloween, but after everything was done, all his energy drained out of him, leaving him ready to sleep for a week.

When the door opened, Dash jerked upright on the couch. He tensed, wondering who would entering their apartment. Twisting toward the door, he relaxed as Fenton stepped inside then closed the door behind him. He settled back onto the couch, sitting smack dab in the middle with his arms thrown over the back.

"We thought we wouldn't see you until morning," Dash commented, stealing a glance as the corner of his mouth curled upward.

"Why would you think that?" Fenton returned a puzzled expression before he dropped onto the couch and leaned back with a sigh. Dash's hand nearly brush over Fenton's far shoulder.

"Oh, you know." Dash smirked, smacking that shoulder lightly. "You left with your date, so," he hunched up his shoulders in a shrug, "I thought maybe you were _leaving_ with her."

Danny rolled his eyes. "That isn't the only thing there is to a relationship."

"Hey, I know that!" Dash raised his hands. "But you looked pretty cozy with her."

"Hayley's friends with Jazz. I do not want to move too fast and then muck things up and have a messy breakup that ends their friendship." Fenton shrugged. "I'm okay with things going slowly."

Dash nodded. "Well, just don't use that as an excuse not to take the risk. And I don't mean just about sex. Don't use your sister's friendship with Hayley to hold her at a distance."

"I'm not!" Fenton's cheeks turned red and puffed out slightly. "But I like to know who I'm dating a little more before," he rubbed his neck, his cheeks growing brighter, "seeing if we're ready to go to _that_ next level."

"So when's your next date?" Dash almost laughed, wondering how dark Fenton's blush could get.

"We haven't made exact plans yet," Fenton mumbled. Then he snapped his gaze at Dash. "What about you and your blind date? Made plans to see her again?"

"N-Not yet." Dash looked away, scratching at his cheek.

Fenton's brow knitted, and his eyes roamed over Dash's body like he was trying to read the former jock's body language. Dash mostly felt exposed under that gaze. " _Is_ there going to be a second date with her?"

Dash still wouldn't look at the man beside him. After a beat of silence, he sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. I liked her. She's nice and interesting. But I'm just not... sure."

"Now who's keeping people at a distance?"

"You're back?" Kwan asked as he stepped out of the bathroom.

"I only walked Hayley down so she wouldn't have to wait outside alone for her friend to show up," Fenton explained as he stood. "And now, I'm going to go crash in bed." He started toward his room as Dash climbed to his feet. Then Fenton paused, turning halfway back to them. "Oh yeah, Isaac, one of the kids I met at the hospital." He frowned and flicked his gaze up to Dash. "He wanted me to tell you thank you for the teddy bear. He really liked it."

Dash blinked, surprised by the comment. "Oh. Of course!" He grinned widely, not sure what else to say since thanks were never needed. He made the teddy bears for the sake of making the children happy and for no other reason. Fenton hesitated then bobbed his head before he disappeared into his room. Dash scratched at his head in uncertainty of what to make of the whole exchange. Then he turned to his friend. "What did you think of Celeste?"

"Huh?" Kwan blinked, thrown off by the question. "She seemed like a good person." He shrugged. "Your opinion of her is more important."

"Right." Dash patted his hand on his friend's shoulder as he walked toward the bathroom. "See you in the morning." He closed the door behind him once he was inside the bathroom. Then he released a sigh. Why did he feel so uncertain about pursuing a relationship with Celeste? He enjoyed the night talking with her, but something just felt... lacking to him.


	18. Chapter 18

Kwan checked his watch again then lifted his gaze to escalator. Already, he stood there by the baggage claim for the past half hour with no show. The schedule said the flight was on time. He sighed, reaching up to rub at his eyes. It was getting late, and being a school night, he needed to wake up early tomorrow. He scanned the crowd of new arrivals coming down the escalator. Several other groups came through the baggage claim area without the person he waited for being among them. He almost didn't dare to hope this new group would be any different. Then he spotted a familiar face in the crowd, and a smile spread over his face. After she hit the ground floor, Kwan lifted his hand in the air and waved.

"Val!" he called out to her.

Valerie spotted him then, with a wide grin, she rushed over to where he stood away from the baggage carousel. She practically tackled him, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly. Kwan grunted, stumbling back a half step before catching his balance.

"We really need to visit each other more often," Valerie said as she pulled away.

"It's a little hard on me during the school year. You didn't put any bags under?"

"Pfft. Of course not." Valerie rolled her green eyes. "I got every I need for the weekend right here." She patted the duffle bag hanging from one shoulder.

Kwan nodded. "As happy as I am to see you, you really didn't need to come." He turned and led the way to the exit of the airport. "Paulina didn't want to come?"

"She did, but you know," Valerie shrugged, "fashion deadlines and all that. She couldn't just take off for a three day trip out here." They exited the airport then made their way through the parking garage to where the car was parked. "First thing, we are going out for some food. I am hungry."

"I'm sure there's some leftovers at the apartment. Or I could fix you something." Kwan unlocked the door to the car when they reached it.

"Kwan," Valerie glared flatly over the roof of the car, "we are going out somewhere. You aren't getting out of this. We're talking, and I'd rather we did it before getting back to where Mr. Blond Wonderful is." She climbed into the passenger's seat, tossing her duffle bag onto the backseat.

Kwan stared upward for a minute then sighed as he got into the driver's seat. "So where are we eating?"

"Somewhere with drinks," Valerie said with a triumphant smile as she settled back into her seat.

"I think I can find a place like that." Kwan pulled out of the parking spot.

As he drove, Kwan occasionally shot a glance to Valerie, who messed around with the radio until she found a song she liked. Kwan chewed on his lip, nervousness growing inside him. Valerie was, unfortunately, a stubborn woman. She wouldn't let him avoid talking about things. In roughly fifteen minutes, he pulled into the parking lot of a small bar and grill. Valerie reached the entrance first and held the door open for him. They got a table, a booth in a relatively quiet section.

"So, uh, where do you want to start?" Kwan asked, leaning back in the booth. He decided diving in head first was better than trying to beat around the bush and delay it.

"First, food." Valerie scanned over the menu until a waiter came by to take their order. "Hm, what do I want?" She took a few more minutes going over the menu. "I'll get the cheeseburger, water, and a shot of tequila." She handed the menu to the waiter.

"And for you, Sir?" The man turned to Kwan with his pen hovering over his notepad in wait for jotting down more to the order.

"Oh, uh," Kwan mumbled, flustered. "I'll just have water and a plate of fries. Uh, with a side of ranch."

The waiter nodded with a polite smile before he left them.

"Now, getting down to business." Valerie leaned on the table with a serious expression. "You can't keep doing this to yourself. You've been in love with Dash practically since you were in diapers."

"Okay. Let's get something straight here."

"Not you?"

Kwan stared, possibly in annoyance, silently for about a minute. "Well, neither are you." He only received a shrug from her. "but that was a gross exaggeration. I didn't even start to realize I liked guys until near the end of freshmen year. And I didn't even consider Dash until senior year. So it's not like I've always liked him that way."

They fell silent when the waiter returned to drop off their food. Valerie happily picked up her burger two seconds after the plate was placed in front of her and took a huge bite from it. Kwan thanked the waiter then dipped a few of his fries into the cup of ranch. They ate silently for a few minutes until they were sure the waiter was gone.

"And ever since senior year, you've been harboring these feelings for him," Valerie summed up after swallowing another bite of her hamburger. She pushed the shot glass toward him.

"I'm driving," Kwan reminded.

"I can drive. I ordered that for you. Being in love with that idiot, you could use a drink."

Sighing, Kwan took the shot glass then downed the contents in one quick gulp. "Ugh," he groaned, making a face as he set the glass back on the table. "You know I hate tequila." He ate a few more fries, hoping to rid the taste of tequila from his mouth. "I was going to confess to him. Once. I thought about doing it after graduation. I was sort of panicking because, you know, a lot times friends in high school lose touch with each other after graduating. I was afraid that would happen to Dash and me. So I wanted to at least tell him how I felt."

"So what happened?" Valerie licked away a glob of ketchup stuck to her lower lip.

"I chickened out." Kwan shrugged. "When has Dash ever shown any interest in another man? I didn't want to freak him out and lose his friendship."

Valerie nodded in understanding. Then she sipped at her water. "Maybe this whole arrangement wasn't a good idea."

Kwan nearly choked on his fries. "What?"

"I just," Valerie sighed, lowering her gaze as her shoulders drooped, "hate seeing you like this. You're around him all the time, which probably is only making you love him more. Then a girl comes into the picture, and I know that just tears you up inside. You can't say anything without revealing your own feelings, so you get stuck playing the supportive friend. I like Dash, but I care about you more. I want you to be happy. I want you to be with someone you can actually be honest with about your feelings. I want you to be happy. And right now, I don't think that's with Dash."

"I know." Kwan leaned back and ran his hands over his face. "It's hard to put away those feelings. And I know this living arrangement probably doesn't make any sense, but I don't want to leave it. And besides, Danny's living there now too. If I just left, who would be there to keep the peace between those two?"

Valerie laughed. "Okay. You might have a point with that one. Just take care of yourself, okay?" When he nodded, she smiled with a touch of relief in her eyes. "All right. Now tell me about this Halloween date. Do I need to silently judge her if I'm ever around her?"

Kwan shook his head. "She seems pretty nice. Uh, though I only got to meet her for a minute."

"Okay." Valerie held up her hands. "I get it. I'll be civil if I end up meeting her." She grabbed a napkin and cleaned her hands. "I think what you need is a night out, have some drinks, have a little fun, meet a guy or two."

Kwan rolled his eyes as the waiter passed by to drop off their check. "You know the club scene isn't really my thing."

"Hey, that's just one way to meet someone."

"I'll pass on that one." Kwan slipped his credit card into the bill folder. A moment later, the waiter returned to pick it up. "I guess, maybe," he hunched up his shoulders, "that's one of the reasons it's been hard to move on. I don't care for the party scene, and I concentrate most of my attention on my job. I don't exactly bump into a lot of potential dates that way."

"Which is why we should do a night on the town. We can bring Danny."

"Danny has a girlfriend." Kwan smiled as the waiter returned with the bill.

"So do I. But with him around, I'll have someone to talk to when you meet a guy." Valerie grinned wickedly.

Kwan rolled his eyes as he worked out the tip then signed the check. Stuffing his credit card back into his wallet, he stood. "I didn't know you were so buddy-buddy with Danny, your _ex_."

"We dated in high school. We've patched things up since then." Valerie followed Kwan out of the bar and grill. "Dash being there with us would be a little awkward, don't you think? And I don't know anyone else living here, so Danny's really the only option available."

Kwan nodded as it did make the most sense. If Danny tagged along with them, his presence would probably ward off any unwanted attention for Valerie. "I guess we can ask him." He shrugged as they climbed into the car, but he still felt uncertain about the whole idea of going out to clubs. "Do you really think this will somehow magically help me to move on?"

"It might not, but if you keep going the way you are, you'll never find someone."

Kwan hated when she was right. He relaxed back in his seat, letting his mind wander as he stared out the window. Valerie drove them back to the apartment building. Life would be a lot easier for him if he could get rid of the feelings he had for his best friend, but Kwan already felt exhausted about the whole prospect of dating. Maybe there was someone good out there for him, but he could also run into a lot of weirdoes and creeps along the way.

"You're not angry that I'm being pushy, are you?" Valerie asked after she parked in the building's parking garage.

Kwan blinked, confused as he pulled himself out of his thoughts. Then he chuckled with a shake of his head. "I know it's just because you care about me. I just," he winced, "haven't been in the whole dating game in a long time. It's little scary to think about putting myself out there. What if we go to some club and no one there likes me?" Frowning, he dropped his gaze to his hands, picking absently at the skin around one thumbnail.

"If people don't like you, they're crazy." Valerie slapped a hand down on his shoulder. "You are the sweetest, kindest guy I've ever met. Anyone would be lucky to date you. And as the best girlfriend you've ever had, I can say you were the best boyfriend I ever had. Until you totally sabotaged our relationship, like all other relationships you've had."

"I didn't-" Kwan snapped his mouth shut when Valerie glared at him. "I didn't do it on purpose. And I was a totally stupid teenager when I broke up with you. It was probably the dumbest thing I did in high school."

"Except you also realized your interests leaned more toward other guys around that time."

"Right. There is that." Kwan climbed out of the car, followed by Valerie after she grabbed her duffle bag from the backseat. "Why did I even have to start thinking of Dash as anything other than a friend?"

Valerie patted his shoulder as they walked to the elevator. "Some mysteries just have no answers. In high school, I never would have imagined anyone thinking of him as anything more than a fling. He just didn't come off as the steady boyfriend type."

"He's grown up and matured a lot since then." Kwan hit the button, and they waited a few minutes before the elevator doors opened. "He's not that same guy who pretty much flirts with anyone wearing a skirt." They stepped into the elevator, and Kwan pushed the button for the right floor. "He hasn't even had a date in quite a while. But that could just be because we're in the middle of the school year. It's pretty busy for us with classes and helping students after school. Then there's also coaching. Practices and games eat up a lot of time. It's not always easy doing all that _and_ maintaining a relationship."

"I can totally understand." Valerie nodded. "But you also can't let that be an excuse. Jobs, no matter what it is, will always find a way to butt themselves into a relationship. You just have to figure out how to work around it."

"I know that." Kwan rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away. "But in a new relationship, it could seem like a major strain. And who knows how understanding anyone I date might be?"

"You're just looking for excuses." Valerie stepped off the elevator first when the doors opened. "You have to stop being so scared of taking a chance. I took a huge chance, and look how well it worked out for me."

"You were lucky. That doesn't always happen for everyone. But," Kwan raised a hand before Valerie could say anything, "I do get your point. And now," he nodded at the door in front of them, "no more talking on this topic."

Valerie nodded and mimed zipping her lips shut. "Not another peep."

Kwan took a deep breath and held it for a moment. Then he unlocked and opened the apartment door. He didn't know if his roommates were even still awake since it was late on a Thursday night. The lights were still on when they entered the apartment, and Dash remained awake, sitting on the couch while he read. He looked up when the door opened, placing a bookmark between the pages of his book to save his spot.

"You're ba- Val!" Dash tossed the book onto the coffee table as he jumped to his feet.

Valerie wasted no time closing the distance and hugging Dash tightly. "Long time no see!"

"What brings you all the way out here?"

"Oh, you know." Valerie pulled away and shrugged. "I was thinking the other day that I hadn't visited in a while, and I had some free time off from work. Plus," she smirked, perhaps a little too deviously, "I hear you got a new roommate."

"I see someone spilled the beans on that." Dash shot a look at Kwan, who merely shrugged. "Not that it was a big secret or anything though." He bent down and snatched up his book. "But we should probably get some sleep. We have to get up early."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember what school's like." Valerie rolled her eyes. "So am I taking the couch?"

"Do you really think I would do that to a friend?" Kwan gasped, placing a hand over his heart with a hurt expression.

Valerie shoved him through the doorway to his room. "See you in the morning," she called to Dash before closing the door after her. Dropping her duffle bag at the foot of the bed, she dropped onto the mattress. "Have you changed anything in this room? I feel like this is exactly how it was when I was here last time."

"It's changed." Kwan sat down on the bed. "Okay. Not very much has changed." He shrugged then flopped backwards. "I guess I don't do change well."

Valerie reached over and patted his chest. "We'll find you happiness one of these days."

Kwan smiled softly, covering her hand with his own. A nagging little voice in the back of his head kept whispering he would probably never be happy if it wasn't with Dash.


	19. Chapter 19

Danny stretched as he left his bedroom. Guilt still gnawed at him for not saying anything to Dash and Kwan about Isaac. But what he could say? How would he explain knowing that Isaac died? It wasn't like any of the nurses or doctors would call him after visiting the hospital one time to tell him about a boy completely unrelated to him. But his roommates seemed to care an awful lot about the children at the hospital if they went out of their way to show the children a good time every Halloween. He thought he should at least say something, but as the days passed, he felt like he missed the opportunity to talk about it.

He rubbed at his eyes. Late night patrols were exhausting. Why did he do this to himself? _Oh, right. Ghosts robbing places for some strange reason and not having any recollection of why_. He frowned thinking about it. During the week since Halloween, he ran into two other ghosts robbing different places, a convenient store and a gas station. Thankfully, he dealt with the ghosts without causing too much of a scene. He did _not_ want to be featured in any news reports, preferring his activities as Phantom to fly under the radar.

After keeping the ghosts contained in his Thermos for a few hours, Danny was able to talk to them, but they gave a similar account as the ghost from the first bank robbery. Their consciousness took a backseat while some unknown force or entity assumed control over them. Who would do this? What purpose did they have for controlling ghosts to rob places? It gave him a headache thinking about it when the affected ghosts couldn't give him any answers.

"Morning, space boy."

Danny froze in the middle of his path to the kitchen. Only one person ever called him that. "Valerie?" He blinked as he turned his gaze to where she sat on the couch in loose knit pajama pants and a tank top. He could only stare as she grinned back with a plate of scrambled eggs in her lap. They hadn't seen each other in more than a year, maybe closer to two years, but she was clearly keeping up with her training. He wouldn't be surprised if her biceps were larger than his own if they flexed next to each other. She was always stronger than he was. She cut her hair short, and Danny had a flash of seeing her future self from the timeline where he turned evil. He _almost_ wanted to run to the bathroom and make sure his reflection didn't look like Dan.

Valerie bent forward to place the half eaten plate on the coffee table. Then she climbed to her feet and walked over to him. "No need to freak out. I'm only here for the weekend." Grinning, she punched him lightly on the shoulder. "You never mentioned anything about moving in with Kwan and Dash. Or moving at all, for that matter." She folded her arms, leaning back slightly as she lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, uh," Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "yeah. I guess I didn't think about it." They sent messages to each other on occasion, but when life got busy, their texts became less frequent.

"Do your friends know about all this?" Valerie gestured at the apartment with one hand.

"Uh, they know I moved out here, but I didn't mention about my, uh, current living arrangements." Danny winced. "Not yet anyway. I figured I'd save myself from their yelling about it." He glanced around then returned his gaze to Valerie. "Speaking of my roommates, where are they?"

"Getting ready. They already ate breakfast, unlike some sleeping beauties. Anything I should know about?"

Danny tossed a glance toward the doors to his roommates' rooms. "There might be something going on here, but I don't have a lot information to go on."

"It's been kind of dull where I live. Kind makes me want to move back to Amity Park." Valerie walked over to the couch and dropped down in the middle of it.

"I'm kind of happy having less ghost problems to worry about." Danny joined her, leaning back with a sigh. "Oh, but check this out." He pulled his phone out of his pocket. After a few taps and swipes, he showed her the screen.

"Pfft! What happened?" Valerie laughed when she saw the picture of a grumpy Vlad in his pajamas with his hair down and frizzy, smoke drifting up in some places, as he held up a small containment unit with an angry green frog of a ghost crammed inside. A caption across the image read: Nice try, Daniel.

"You know that whole ghost Halloween thing?"

"Ah, the whole spook thing." Valerie nodded.

Danny chuckled. "Well, Skulker showed up here, and naturally, I didn't want him to make a scene. So I gave him a challenge I didn't think he could pass up."

"No!" Valerie gasped then laughed. "I can't believe you sent him to spook Vlad! Skulker has to have a death wish." She coughed. "Or a second death wish."

Danny smirked. "But it worked. I had a nice, peaceful Halloween, and Dash and Kwan didn't find out anything."

"That's good. So about what's going on here-"

"Did you eat breakfast yet?" Kwan asked when he stepped out of his room.

"Just about to do that!" Danny hopped to his feet and hurried to the kitchen. He winced when he saw the time, not realizing how late it was when he woke up. Anything that took a while to cook wasn't an option at this point. He grabbed some slices of bread and put them in the toaster then grabbed the jam from the refrigerator and a banana. It wasn't the best, or most filling, breakfast, but it would hold him until lunch. He survived on less when he woke up late during his whole high school career.

"That's all you're having?" Kwan frowned in disapproval as Danny peeled the banana to take a large bite from it.

Danny chewed then swallowed the mouthful quickly. "I'll make it up at lunch. There's not enough time to fix something better." The toast popped up, and he grabbed the slices, ready to spread the raspberry jam on them.

"Don't you just love how caring he is?" Valerie grinned as she poked Kwan in his cheek. He huffed and rolled his eyes in response.

"If I wasn't already dating someone, I'd be tempted to snatch him up." Danny winked playfully before taking a bite out of his toast. After he swallowed, he turned to Valerie, ignoring the odd smirking curl of her mouth, but he missed the expression on Kwan's face. "Are you going to just hang out around here all day?"

"A day off to relax does sound really nice," Valerie admitted. "I might check around to see if there's a place I can stop by to get in a quick training session though."

"Never a day off from training, huh?" Dash walked in, smoothing back his blond hair. "We have games tonight."

"Both of you?" Valerie blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, an unfortunate scheduling conflict." Kwan shrugged, but Danny could see it bothered him not being able to go to Dash's game to support his friend.

"I've been debating which game to go to," Danny said, tossing the banana peel into the garbage. "They're at different schools, so I can't just pop from one game to the other."

Valerie nodded, seeming to understand the dilemma. "Well, there's two of us. You can go to one, and I can go to the other. We can even text each other during the game to update each other on what's happening."

Danny finished his breakfast and washed his hands. "That's not too bad an idea. Which game do you want to go to?"

Valerie threw an arm over Kwan's shoulder, placing her other hand on her hip as she grinned. "I think you already knew the answer to that."

Dash released an offended gasp, which earned him a punch to the gut from Valerie. "We should get going or we'll be late." He patted Valerie's shoulder. "We should go out to dinner after the games. We can decide where later." He grabbed his things, already heading for the door.

Kwan hugged Valerie tightly. "See you later."

Danny got his things together. "Text me. But my responses might be slow. Classes, you know." He held up a fist, and Valerie bumped her fist against it.

"Will do. Maybe we can do a little," Valerie cast a glance toward the door, but Dash and Kwan were already in the hall, "patrolling before I have to leave."

Danny nodded agreement. After a quick goodbye, he hurried to catch up with his roommates before they left without him. He checked his bag to be sure he had everything needed for his classes as he walked to the elevator. Kwan stopped the doors from closing until Danny slipped into the elevator with them.

"You and Val sure act like best buds even though you're exes." Dash stared at him with an eyebrow lifted and surprise in his blue eyes.

Danny shrugged as he leaned back against the wall. "It was kind of rough after she broke up with me. I really thought maybe she was The One. You know? But after some time to give her some space, we managed to patch things up to at least remain friends." It wasn't the full truth about what happened between them, but he couldn't go into the whole story about how Valerie found out he was Phantom, or even that Valerie was the Red Huntress.

"I'm surprised she never even talked about you before," Kwan admitted. "I mean, obviously she mentioned you on occasion when you were dating. But after the breakup, she didn't really talk about you again."

Danny wasn't surprised. In high school, he was a loser. Valerie wouldn't dare talk about him to her A List friends after they were broken up. It surprised him more that she talked about him when they were dating. He rolled a shoulder as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. "I guess after being kicked out of the A List, she didn't think rambling about being buddies with a loser was a wise choice." He caught a cringe on his roommates' faces before he stepped out of the elevator and into the parking garage.

"You do know that wasn't entirely our decision, right?" Dash hurried to fall into step next to him. "There was a hierarchy there. We were freshmen. Yeah, we were popular, but there were still people above us. The upperclassmen told us Val had to go. Yeah, we were all stuck up and full of ourselves. Looking back now, we should have stuck with her and stood up for our friend. But we were too desperate to keep our popularity to go against the upperclassmen." Dash shook his head as they reached the car. "Why am I explaining all this? We talked it all out with Val. She was part of the whole A List hierarchy. She understood."

"I wasn't really looking for an explanation." Danny opened the car door once it unlocked. "But surely you can understand not wanting to be teased or ridiculed for being friends with a loser in that environment, right?"

Dash pursed his lips, not looking too pleased with the conversation, but he nodded agreement.

"I thought we were keeping that whole part of our past in, you know, the past?" Kwan glanced between the two men as he bit his lower lip.

"Don't worry. This won't turn into some kind of fight," Danny assured him before he slipped into the backseat. "I was just trying to point out a reason why Val might keep quiet about us still being friends." He scratched the back of his head as the car's engine rumbled. "Though I guess staying friends with your ex is pretty odd. How many of your exes are you still friends with?"

Dash considered as he backed out of the parking spot. "I kind of keep in touch with one. Most of the time, when the relationship ends, that's it."

"Pretty much just Val," Kwan said with a slight bob of his head.

"You don't exactly have that many exes to begin with," Dash teased.

When his phone buzzed, Danny tuned out the conversation in the front of the car as he pulled his phone from his pocket. Valerie wasted no time contacting him when it came to- Danny blinked at the new message. It wasn't from Valerie. It was from Hayley.

[ _Are you busy tomorrow?_ ]

Danny smiled as he typed out his reply. [Busy in the morning. Free after that.]

[ _I have something in the morning too. Maybe a date after that?_ ]

[Sounds good. Your choice? I'm still a little unfamiliar with what restaurants are good around here.]

[ _I'll text you the details later!_ ]

[I'll be waiting.] Danny stared after sending his last message. Was that cheesy? Did it sound dumb? Should he have just left the conversation as is without a response? He almost smacked himself in the forehead as he wondered why he was so terrible at this kind of thing.

He lifted his head when he realized the car went suddenly quiet. Kwan was peeking over his shoulder, and Dash shot an occasion glance at the rearview mirror. Both men looked rather curious. Danny flushed lightly, flustered at the attention as he fumbled to put his phone away.

"What?" Danny asked, shifting awkwardly under their gazes.

"Who was that?" Kwan's voice was light and teasing as his mouth curled in a small grin. "Making plans with someone?"

"Just Hayley." Danny shrugged, looking away. "She wanted to know if I was free this weekend."

"You two seemed to be doing well. Is she The One?"

"I don't know." Danny fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "I like her. But I think it's still too early in the relationship. Right now, I'm just seeing where it goes rather than worrying about whether or not she is The One."

"That's probably a good idea," Dash said. "No need to put pressure on the relationship so soon by trying to fit your date into this idea of 'The One.'"

"Yeah." Danny remembered their talk about The One and soul mates. "I just hope I don't mess things up."

"Do we need to have that conversation again?" Dash stared flatly through use of the rearview mirror.

"No," Danny waved his hands before him, "no, no. I know. I should be more confident. It's just not always that easy to break a habit from years of doubting myself. So a little patience with that?" He winced, worried his roommate was about to lecture him again.

"Yeah," Dash frowned, "I get that."

Danny breathed out in relief, relaxing back against his seat as they neared the school. Saying "be more confident" was easy. Actually becoming more confident was difficult. He was confident as a teacher. He was confident fighting ghosts. But dating? Even after years of dating people, he still struggled with self doubt. _Stop being negative_ , he told himself. _She just texted to ask about a date. Obviously she likes you. So just think positive_. It wouldn't be easy, but if he kept up the effort, he thought maybe he would gain some confidence.


	20. Chapter 20

Dash smiled with a small shake of his head as he watched a group of students cheering loudly while they rushed down the hall. They were already decked out in the school colors, prepared to support their team to the fullest at the game. It was things like this which made him feel like he was back in high school. The students always got excited on game days, no matter which school it was.

He pulled out his phone, checking the messages. It didn't surprise him that Valerie chose to attend Kwan's baseball game over his football game. Valerie was always closer to Kwan. Sometimes, Dash actually worried his spot as his best friend was stolen by her. Sighing, he shoved his phone back into his pocket. It was a silly thought that liked to nag at the back of his mind.

"Hey, smile!"

"Huh?" Dash barely had time to lift his head before Fenton appeared at his side, throwing an arm over his shoulders and snapping a picture with the phone he held up an arm's length away. Dash frown, his brow knitting in the middle. "Why did you just take a selfie?"

Fenton kept his gaze on the phone as he quickly typed something out. "Val made me realize I was kind of avoiding telling my friends about us." He finished with the phone then put it away. "Tuck didn't believe me, so I thought a selfie would provide enough proof for him." He wore a cheeky grin, and Dash wondered what else Fenton might have said to his friends.

"You weren't telling them anything bad, right?"

Fenton blinked owlishly. "What exactly do you expect me to be telling them?" Then he frowned, his eyes narrowing flatly. "Don't tell me you think I'm doing nothing but complaining about you to my friends. I haven't really said much of anything beyond our living arrangement, and that we work together."

"Oh." Dash flushed, mildly embarrassed as he looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry." Why did he automatically jump to thinking Fenton might be badmouthing him to his friends? His shoulders dropped a small fraction as guilt punched him in the gut. They were supposed to be working to become friends. Friends didn't make a bad snap judgment like that about each other. It certainly never would have crossed Kwan's mind.

"Hey, don't stress out about it." Fenton slapped him on the shoulder then shrugged like the whole misunderstanding wasn't a big deal. "I'm not going to go blabbing to them about anything you don't want them to know. Like," the corner of his mouth twisted upward just a touch, "how you like to spend you Halloween morning."

A flare of heat washed over him. Outrage bubbled up in him. But in the next second, Dash relaxed. Fenton just said he wouldn't blab about it, and after meeting Fenton's gaze, Dash knew it was true. The man would keep any secrets told to him and take them to the grave if necessary. Dash raked a hand through his slicked back hair, wondering when he would stop having those silly snap judgments about his fellow teacher. Hadn't Fenton already proven he was a good friend?

"Still," Dash said with a grimace. "I'll try not to make those kinds of judgments again."

Fenton stared for a brief second then smiled. "So are we going to the game or what?"

Dash chuckled, shaking his head. "Okay. Let's go."

The football game didn't start for a few hours, but since it was an away game, they needed to get the team and their gear on the bus to make the drive over to the other school. Some of the players liked to lollygag, and it could turn into a big hassle getting everyone onto the bus.

"Valerie texted a little while ago," Dash said as they walked down the hall. "Sounds like she and Kwan decided we should meet up at Off the Hook. It's this little seafood place. Ah!" He paused and glanced over at Fenton. "You don't have any kind of allergies, right?"

"No fish allergy."

"Okay. Good." Dash nodded. It didn't occur to him before to ask about it. "Is there anything you are allergic to?"

"You don't need to worry about it. As far as I know, I'm not allergic to anything. Should I be worried about serving you any food?"

Dash shook his head. "Nope. You're good to fix me anything you want." He noticed a group of three students, seniors from what he remembered, standing by their lockers. They immediately fell silent as he and Fenton passed them. After they walked by, the three students turned to each other with quiet giggles. His brow furrowed at the response. He knew it wasn't completely uncommon for students to make fun of their teachers. He had to admit he used to do it too. But it still left a sour taste in his mouth. He didn't like being laughed at, especially when it felt like it was behind his back.

"So," Fenton said, drawing Dash's attention back to him as they neared where the team would gather, "my meet is kind of early in the morning. I understand if you and Kwan would rather sleep in or whatever."

"Hey." Dash punched him on the shoulder, perhaps a little too hard judging from how Fenton then rubbed at his arm. "You really think we're not going to come support you and the swim team when you come to our games? It's what friends do after all." He remembered what Hayley asked him during the Halloween party, but calling Fenton by his first name still felt strange to him. Maybe after some more time to better get to know each other, he would feel comfortable with using Danny.

Fenton grinned. Was that a touch of smugness or pride? "The team will appreciate it. We, uh, don't get a lot of students coming to watch our meets." Then he smirked mischievously. "Maybe you could invite your date from Halloween to come."

A flush of heat crept over Dash's cheeks. "Oh, I get it. I tease you about your date, so now you tease me about mine."

"It's what friends do, right?"

Dash rolled his eyes as he reached over, put his hand to Fenton's head, then pushed him away as his roommate chuckled. They walked in silence after that until they reached the bus where the team, most of them anyway, waited around for him with their gear. He scanned the group then sighed.

"Where are Jordan and Patrick?" Dash asked, and the football players immediately fell silent the second he spoke. No one responded at first.

Then Cameron timidly raised his hand from the back of the group. "I think they're back in the locker room."

"Go get them. Tell them if they're not on the bus in five minutes, we're leaving without them." Dash snapped his fingers, and Cameron darted away from the group and jogged back toward the building. "The rest of you, load up!"

The team wasted no time gathering their gear and climbing onto the waiting bus. Dash stood at the door and gestured for Fenton to get on too. They ended up waiting twelve minutes before Cameron returned with the missing members of the team. Dash stared sternly, arms folded, when they came racing up to the bus.

"I really don't want to have to kick the pair of you off the team," Dash said, and the two students bowed their heads. They, at least, appeared to regret their decision to goof off in the locker room. "This is your last warning. Next time you're late, you're both off the team. This type of behavior is disrespectful to me and your teammates. Now get on the bus." He pointed to the open door. "We're already behind schedule."

Dash waited for Jordan and Patrick to climb onto the bus before following them. The driver closed the door once he was on the bus. Jordan and Patrick made their way to the back of the bus, mumbling apologies to their teammates as they went. Dash nodded curtly to himself then took a seat up front, next to Fenton, so the driver could start driving them to the other school.

"I wouldn't have thought it," Fenton said, looking Dash over, "but being a coach really suits you."

Dash stared, the compliment taking a moment to work its way through his head. Why did he feel such a swell of pride hearing it from Fenton? "Yeah, well, you know." He shrugged, awkwardness washing over him like a nervous, jittery teenager on his first day of high school. "I was always pretty good at helping out my coach in high school. When the position to coach the team opened, I thought it was a good idea. I have a lot of football experience behind me, so I felt I had a lot I could teach them."

Fenton nodded in understanding, perhaps feeling similarly about taking up the position as coach of the swim team. Dash twisted around to check on his team. They were loud and rowdy, but when they caught their coach watching them, they quieted down, for a while. Excitement buzzed in the air like electricity. The team was eager to reach the other school and get out onto the field and play.

Dash turned back to Fenton, who was staring out the window with a concerned wrinkle in his brow. "So," he bumped the man with his elbow, "are you going to invite Hayley to Thanksgiving?"

Fenton jerked his head around, almost like he was surprised to have Dash speak to him. "Oh, uh. I hadn't really thought that far ahead. Do you do something special on Thanksgiving too?"

"You mean other than eat turkey and watch football?" Dash chuckled. "No, we don't really do anything special. Not like Halloween. Um," he looked forward, watching the street ahead of them, "that is, of course, if you want to spend Thanksgiving with us. We'd totally understand if you'd rather, like, go spend Thanksgiving alone with her or something."

"Is it too soon for that?" Fenton chewed on his lower lip, seeming to consider the question quite seriously. "I mean, tomorrow will only be our third date. What length of dating is it considered appropriate to do the whole holiday with just us thing?"

"You are thinking about this whole thing a little too hard." Dash snorted and bumped his arm into Fenton. "There are no set rules to dating. If she wants to spend Thanksgiving alone with you," he winked with a smirk, "then I say do whatever feels right and natural for you."

Fenton was silent then shook his head with a short laugh. "I never imagined I'd be getting love advice from you of all people."

Dash casually glanced behind them under the guise of checking on the team, hoping it hid his awkwardness. "Can't say I would have thought I'd be giving love advice to you."

The bus parked out front of their opponent's school. Dash scowled out the window at the sight of the prestigious high school, reported to be the best in the state. This high school looked like some boarding school where royalty and diplomats would send their children. Dash considered Benedict High School their rivals, but he would never say it had to do with their complete elitism. So far, against Benedict High School, they were tied for number of wins.

Once the bus doors opened, Dash stood up and blocked the pathway. "Now remember." He cast a glance around at his team, lingering on a few members here and there. "I want you on your best behavior after we get off this bus. I know we're all excited about the game, but I also know these Benedict boys like to find ways to provoke us. Don't let them get into your heads. Let's show them what we, as a team, can do." He smiled as the team cheered. "All right. Let's get out there." He stepped down from the bus and stood by as the team filed out to head for the school's locker room.

Fenton exited the bus last. "I guess I'll meet up with you after the game."

"Oh." Dash blinked, perhaps a little more taken aback than he had any reason to be. "You're going to sit in the stands?"

"Uh, well, yeah?" Fenton's brow furrowed slightly. "Isn't that where all the fans sit to watch the game?"

"Right." Dash scratched a hand through his hair, feeling silly. Why did he just assume Fenton would come sit on the bench with the team to watch the game from the sidelines? It only made sense Fenton would think he had to sit in the stands with the rest of the fans. "I mean, if you really wanted to you could sit with us."

"Oh." Fenton's gaze lowered to the ground as he shifted his weight. "I wouldn't want to get in the way." Before Dash could argue against it, Fenton continued, "Anyway, it's fun being in the stands and cheering for the team. Kind of feels like high school when I would go to all the games." He lightly bumped a fist against Dash's shoulder as he grinned. "Kick their Uranus!"

Dash blinked then laughed. "Did you really just use a planet in place of cursing?"

"Uh, yeah, maybe." Fenton flushed darkly. "My parents didn't like it when my sister and I used foul language, so I kind of got into this habit of using space terms instead. I know it's silly."

"No, it's-" Dash shook his head before he could finish that thought. Why did it even pass his mind to call it cute? "I should get to the locker room. I have to give a whole pep talk before the game starts."

"See you after the game." Fenton headed off to the football field to find a spot in the stands to sit.

Dash watched after him for a moment before he cursed, remembering the team. He rushed off to the locker room, hoping the team wasn't getting too rowdy in his absence. _Get your head in the game, Baxter!_ He needed to stay focused on the game. Why did it even matter that Fenton cursed in space terms? Dash rubbed at his face. What was wrong with his brain? He didn't usually think of things other men did as cute. Kwan had a few cute traits. Dash couldn't deny that, but he also never actually thought about it. He wasn't raised to think of other men as cute.

Scowling, he entered the locker room, where the team was pulling on their gear and pumping themselves up for the game. Why did he fall back on his father's narrow way of thinking? Hadn't he matured since those days? He wasn't going to stick to some outdated idea of what a man should be or how a man should think. He wasn't going to be ashamed of finding something another man did cute. He held his head up as he looked over the team.

"Gather round!" Dash called, standing at the front of the locker room. Once he gave his pep talk, the team circled around, placing their hands in the center. They gave a quick chant then broke away with a clap of their hands. Dash led the way out of the locker room and down to the field.


	21. Chapter 21

What was he even supposed to think about a comment like that? Kwan stood frozen, his face burning red. It didn't escape Valerie's attention, he knew it, though Danny seemed completely oblivious to the effect of his comment as he continued the conversation like they were merely talking about the weather. Thankfully, he managed to recover before Danny noticed or Dash returned to the room.

Kwan loved Dash. He would always love his best friend. But hearing the comment, he wondered: Did Danny mean it? If Hayley wasn't in the picture, would Danny be interested in pursuing a relationship with him? Kwan honestly didn't know how he felt about it. Flattered that Danny could potentially be interested in him? But would it ever be fair to Danny if Kwan was still in love with Dash?

Kwan raked a hand through his hair, shoving all those thoughts to the back of his head. He needed to focus on the game. They were in the bottom of the ninth, their turn at bat, and the score was tied four to four. Jeremy walked up to the plate, dug his foot in the ground, and lifted the bat over his shoulder. Normally, Kwan wouldn't break a sweat in worry about the outcome of the game with their best batter up. But lately, Jeremy seemed off his game. It worried him. Not because he cared only about winning the game, but Kwan worried there might be something going on in Jeremy's life. Unfortunately, Jeremy didn't seem to want to talk about it with him.

The pitcher brought back his arm then threw the ball, hard and fast down the line. Jeremy's hands squeezed around the bat as he watched the pitch. Kwan held his breath. Would he hit it? Would it be a strike? They only needed one run for the win, and they were already down two outs. A loud crack split the silence. The baseball flew high into the outfield. The opposing team ran to catch it. Tossing the bat off to the side, Jeremy raced toward first base. His teammate Henry, already on second base, ran to third. An outfielder fumbled and dropped the ball. Henry rounded third and shot toward home plate as Jeremy continued to second base. The outfielder threw the baseball with all his strength. The second baseman caught just seconds after Jeremy safely reached the base. Henry stepped one foot onto home plate. The crowd screamed out in victory. Kwan's breath rushed out of him. The team jumped up from the bench, whooping and high fiving and bumping chests in celebration.

"All right, all right." Kwan clapped his hands to draw their attention. He smiled proudly at the team as they fell silent and looked to him. "Let's go line up." Leaving the dugout first, he led the team onto the field to meet with the other team. He stopped in front of the other coach, a much older man with graying hair and an unshaven face. "Good game," Kwan said, holding his hand out between them.

The coach stared him down with his arms folded and an unpleasant expression on his face. Then he grabbed Kwan's hand with his own rough and callused one. His handshake was firm. "A well deserved win." The corner of his mouth twitched in the faintest of smirks. The two coaches stepped aside and allowed the teams to walk past, slapping hands with mumbles of "good game."

Kwan looked to the bleachers where the crowd was already dispersing as people left and headed for their cars. "Let's get back to the bus," he told the team. They jogged to the dugout to grab their gear.

"That was a great game," Valerie said, coming up behind Kwan and clapping a hand to his shoulder.

"Ah, thanks." Kwan ducked his head, scratching at the back of it. "I'll admit I was a bit worried for a while that we wouldn't pull out the win."

"That last batter?" Valerie stared at the dugout, scanning for said batter.

"Heh. Of course you'd spot that." Kwan shook his head. "I've been a bit worried about him. Thankfully, he pulled through tonight. If there were any scouts in the audience, I'm sure they took notice of him." His chest swelled a little with pride. A small punch to his stomach from Valerie quickly deflated him though.

"Should I take a taxi to the restaurant and get us a table?" Valerie questioned. "You know, while the rest of you do your whole coach thing."

Kwan considered then nodded. "That would probably be a good idea. Let me-"

"If you're going to try to give me money, I will smack you," Valerie stopped him as Kwan reached for his pocket.

"Sorry." Kwan winced. "You're a guest and all."

"A guest who turned up despite you saying it was unnecessary." Valerie's expression turned serious in an instant. "What Danny said earlier-"

Kwan shook his head. "He was probably just teasing."

Valerie didn't seemed convinced. "But if it were a possibility, would you have any interest in him?"

"Um." Kwan looked away, but Valerie would see through any lie he spun; just like she always did. He sighed. "It doesn't matter. Danny is dating someone, and I- Well, I have my own issue to work out." He shrugged. "Why entertain an idea that isn't going to happen?"

Valerie frowned, almost in what seemed to be disappointment. "You don't know how things are going to turn out down the line. I wouldn't be too quick to rule out any possibilities."

"Coach!" Patrick called out before Kwan could think of how to respond to her comment.

"I should get back to the bus," Kwan explained, and Valerie nodded. "See you at dinner." He kissed her on the cheek before he headed over to where the team was waiting at the bus. The comment Danny made that morning buzzed again through his head. Danny was good looking, smart, and they got along well. Maybe if things were different, something could happen between them, but it simply wasn't an option as things were right now.

Most of the team was already on the bus when he arrived. Kwan stopped short to watch as Jeremy hugged a younger boy. When he stood up straight again, Jeremy placed his baseball cap on the boy's head then tugged the duckbill down over the boy's face with a chuckle.

"Oh, hey, Coach!" Jeremy smiled when he looked up to see Kwan standing a few feet away. "This is my little bro." He dropped a hand onto the boy's head. "He's a troublemaker, but you don't have to worry about dealing with him for a few more years."

Kwan was a bit surprised. But when the boy lifted his head, raising the cap so his face could be seen, Kwan could see the resemblance between the brothers. He grinned. "I hoped you cheered really loud for your brother."

Jeremy laughed at his brother's shy nod. "Okay. I don't want to be the one holding things up." He patted his brother's shoulder. "Time to go back to Dad, okay?" His brother bobbed his head again. "Oh. And this," he dug into his bag, "is for Lucy." He held out a baseball to his brother. The baseball was in a box, like it came right from the store, but it was scuffed up and dirtied, clearly one of the balls used during the game.

"When did you take that game ball?" Kwan gave Jeremy a stern stare.

"Um," Jeremy sweated, "it's just- Lucy, my sister, she's in the hospital right now. So she couldn't come to the game. I wanted to give her something. You know, include her somehow." That explained the box. The baseball was covered in dirt and germs. Keeping it inside the box would offer some protection against the germs while his sister was in the hospital.

"Don't make a habit of it though."

"Of course, Coach!" Jeremy stood up straight, nearly saluting in response. Then he gave his brother a nudge. "I'll you see back at home."

"You don't need to walk him back?"

Jeremy shook his head. "Our dad is waiting right over there." He nodded his head to a man several feet away with a phone pressed to his ear. "He got a call and stepped away."

Kwan nodded, relieved the young boy wouldn't have to wander around alone to find their father. "All right. Time to go." He smiled down at Jeremy's brother. "I hope you enjoyed the game."

"It was very exciting," the boy said, grinning and showing off a gap in the bottom row of his teeth. He hugged his brother then jogged over to where their father waited.

Kwan climbed onto the bus after Jeremy and took the front seat behind the driver. Once the door was closed, they headed back to their high school. The team buzzed with excitement, eager to spend the rest of their Friday night celebrating their win. Kwan needed to get up once or twice to remind them not to get too rowdy while on the bus. When they arrived back at their school, the team rushed off the bus, but Kwan called for their attention before they could run off into the night. He oversaw putting away the school gear and making sure they didn't leave a huge mess on the bus. When he approved, the team was free to leave. Then Kwan headed to meet up with Dash and Danny.

His roommates didn't look too happy when he arrived at the car. Kwan hesitated in his approach. Did something happen to and from the football game? Did they get into a fight? Kwan braced himself, in case he was about to walk into an argument.

"What's going on?"

Dash turned to him, his expression grumpy with his brow furrowing and his mouth curving downward in an almost pout. "We lost the game."

"Oh." Kwan frowned, his excitement over the baseball team's win deflating.

"We totally had that last field goal, but the refs," Danny growled, grinding his teeth, "favored the opposing team the whole game. They did nothing but make bad calls all game long. We should have won."

Dash reached over and patted him on the shoulder in comfort. Kwan's gaze flicked back and forth between the two men. He wanted them to get along, of course, but for some reason, seeing them in that moment, he was almost... jealous. Usually, he was the one to comfort Dash when he got angry about unfair calls by the refs at a game.

"So how was the baseball game?" Dash asked as he glanced around the parking lot. "And where's Val?"

"We won." Kwan shrugged like it was no big deal. He didn't want to sound like he was bragging after hearing about the football team's loss. "And Val went ahead to get us a table."

"That's great!" Dash clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. "If you win the next game, you should be going to the championship, right?"

"Um, yeah." Kwan fought back the blush trying to rise to his cheeks.

"Congrats," Danny added. "That's really amazing. I hope I get to see your next game."

"Thanks." Kwan felt so fluster he couldn't think of any other response. "We probably shouldn't leave Val waiting too long though."

Danny chuckled. "Right. She can get impatient sometimes." He winced, perhaps recalling a time he was late for a date with Valerie back when they were a couple. He climbed into the backseat of the car, leaving the front passenger seat for Kwan.

When they were all in the car, Dash pulled out of the parking spot, and they drove toward Off the Hook, which was not more than a ten minute drive from their apartment. Dash and Danny eagerly asked for a play by play account of how the baseball game went. Kwan happily answered all their questions while asking a few himself about the football game. He relaxed against his seat. It was easier to set aside his feelings when their conversation focused on things like sports or work.

When they arrived at Off the Hook, they entered the restaurant and searched for Valerie, who was already seated at a booth by a window. Off the Hook had the whole nautical theme. Anchors and knotted ropes decorated the place, and paintings of ships and ocean life hung on the wall. Valerie spotted them walking toward her and slipped out of the booth to give each of them a hug.

"I hope we didn't keep you waiting long," Dash said before he slid into the booth.

Valerie shook her head. "Not at all." She took the spot next to Dash, which earned a furrow of Kwan's brow. "I ordered water for the table, since I wasn't sure what you guys would want to drink. The waiter only just brought them by."

Kwan eyed Valerie suspiciously as he slid into the booth next to Danny. Their elbows nearly brushed when they leaned against the table. "Did you have any plans?" he asked, accepting the menu Danny passed to him. "Anyplace you wanted to visit while you're here?"

Valerie shrugged. "I don't want to inconvenience any of you. Anyway, we've done all that sightseeing stuff when I came before." She scanned over her menu. "I'm fine just hanging out with all of you. We don't have to do anything special."

"Well, there's Danny's swim meet tomorrow," Dash said, picking up his glass of water. "After that," he smirked over the top of his glass, "it sounds like Danny has another date."

Danny blushed, fumbling to flip the menu. It was kind of cute to watch when he got embarrassed. "How much more teasing about dating someone can I expect?" He lifted a curious eyebrow as he stared across the table at Dash, who shrugged. Kwan knew his friend could keep up teasing about something until he finally grew bored of it, which could be quite a long time.

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked when he stopped by their table. They took a few more minutes to look over the menu before telling the waiter their order.

"I'm looking forward to the meet tomorrow." Valerie grinned as she leaned on the table with her chin in one hand once the waiter left. "Do you wear that little Speedo?"

The red crept across Danny's cheeks again. "I'm the coach. I don't do any of the swimming, so no, I don't wear a Speedo to the meet."

Valerie pouted. "Well, that's disappointing." Then she smirked with a wink. "I bet you fill one out very well."

Dash choked on his water. "New topic!" He patted his chest as he coughed. "New topic!" The other three laughed as Dash recovered, Valerie reaching over to pat his back.


	22. Chapter 22

"Hey." Danny tossed something as Valerie flew up to where he sat on the edge of a roof. "How'd you manage to sneak out?"

Valerie easily snatched the item out of the air then dropped onto the roof. "Kwan sleeps like the dead. As soon he's out, I can pretty much do whatever I want and he won't wake up until morning." She sat down next to him and looked at what she caught. "I can't believe you." She gave him a light shove before tearing open the wrapper of a medium sized pretzel filled with chocolate and peanut butter.

"I still remember your favorite snack." Danny smiled, leaning back on his arms as Valerie took a bite out of the pretzel. "Your new suit looks good."

Valerie swallowed her mouthful with a light blush. Her suit still kept with the red and black theme, but her updated look had a sleeker design. "Thanks. It took me a while to figure out how to alter it." She stared down at her hand. "It's still kind of weird, even after all these years. Having it respond to my thoughts."

"Yeah," Danny agreed, staring out over the city. Sometimes, he thought he would never feel normal for the rest of his life. How could he when he was half ghost? Keeping the secret was exhausting. At least he had his friends, Jazz, and Valerie to confide in about his ghost activities. "Ow!" He rubbed his arm where Valerie punched him.

"Were you being serious about Kwan?"

Danny blinked, his brain slow in understanding her question. "About this morning?" He winced when her green eyes narrowed dangerously. "I wasn't being mean or anything. If that's what you're thinking." His hands shot up in defense. "Kwan's a great guy. I'd feel pretty lucky to have him as a boyfriend. But, I mean," he shook his head, raking a gloved hand through white hair, "first he'd actually have to like me in that way. But also, I'm dating Hayley right now."

How could he not give Kwan a look? The man had a nice body, but he was also smart and sensitive. Danny felt at ease when talking to him. They probably could have been friends during high school if it weren't for the whole divide between the A List and the losers. But Kwan probably didn't even look at him in that way, and he probably had a line of people wanting to date him. Danny couldn't imagine someone _not_ wanting to snatch Kwan off the market. The first night out when he moved into the apartment, Danny noticed several women flirting with Kwan, and even a few men eying him. Valerie finished off her pretzel with a shake of her head. Danny knew that look on her face. It usually meant she couldn't believe how stupid he was. He frowned as Valerie clapped her hands together, wiping away crumbs from her gloves.

"Let's get down to business." Valerie turned to him with a serious expression. "Tell me what's been happening here."

"I've caught some ghosts stealing from various places." Danny sighed, running a hand over his face. "They act all money crazed, which doesn't make much sense to me. Ghosts don't need money. But after I've left them in the Thermos for a little bit, they seem to come back to their sense and I can _actually_ talk to them. The problem is that they don't seem to recall much about what happened. They describe feeling some kind of tug and then just, like, settling into the darkness of their mind until after I put them in the Thermos. I talked to Ember about it on Halloween. She hasn't heard anything about this kind of thing happening. But she's spreading the word in the Ghost Zone. If she finds out anything, she'll send word somehow."

"I can't say I've ever heard of anything like that either." Valerie's brow furrowed with concern. "They don't say anything that might give you a clue before you suck them into the Thermos?"

Danny shook his head. "It's mostly just been that they _need_ the money. It's the only point of focus they have. I know ghosts are obsessive, but this was a whole new level. And I just don't understand the why behind the obsession. I've never met any ghosts this attached to money."

"It is rather curious." Valerie held her hand to her chin while biting her lip. "I guess our best plan is to nab one of these ghosts and see if we can get it to talk." She stood up then held out her hand to him.

"We can't go in guns blazing." Danny took her hand, allowing her to help him to his feet. "I'm trying to keep a low profile as Phantom here," he explained when he spied her puzzled expression.

Valerie nodded, understanding dawning in her eyes. "You move here. Then Phantom shows up? Even Dash would think to put something together there."

"And if the Red Huntress showed up only when you were in town," Danny added, earning a wince from Valerie. What would he even say to Dash and Kwan if they learned Phantom was in town? How would they even react if they learned the truth? Would they be scared of him? Would they be disgusted by him? Would they want him to leave the apartment? Danny tried to shove the bad thoughts out of his mind.

Valerie's mouth pursed. "Yeah, it's probably best they don't learn about this side of me. I don't even really want Paulina knowing. I don't need her worrying about me when I go out on a patrol."

"How do you get around that?" Danny lifted a curious eyebrow. His relationships never lasted long enough for him to worry about thinking up excuses for his nightly patrols. Living with Dash and Kwan, he could easily slip out during the night since they had their own separate rooms, and they didn't simply barge into his room without his permission.

"I don't patrol as often as I probably should. I go out maybe twice a week and tell her I wanted to get in some extra training." Valerie frowned, lowering her gaze. "But I do hate lying to her. I don't think she's noticed, but it's like having this weight of guilt constantly in my chest." She turned to him, perhaps seeking something within his gaze. "Do you think I should tell her? I don't want this to hang over me for our entire life."

"If you think it's something you need to do, then I say do it when you feel ready." Danny laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it encouragingly. From the bits and pieces he heard about their lives, he thought Valerie and Paulina had a strong relationship. If they couldn't make it through this secret, what hope did he have?

Valerie pulled him into a hug, and Danny smiled softly as he wrapped his arms around her. "Okay!" She pulled out of the embrace then nudged him with her elbow. "Let's go find some ghosts." She hopped off the roof, her hover board snapping out beneath her feet instantly as her helmet rose up to protect and hide her face.

With a roll of his eyes, Danny followed her lead as he floated off the rooftop. He reached over and placed his hand on the hover board then extended his invisibility to Valerie. They circled around town, seeking out any ghostly activity. He didn't want to be out long, since he needed to get up early for the swim meet. The night was quiet, and Danny picked up nothing with his ghost sense. The money obsessed ghosts didn't come out every night, from what he could tell. Or else, he had the misfortune of missing some ghosts when they robbed places. It wasn't easy patrolling a big town all by himself.

Danny was about to call it a night when a spike of cold ran up his spine. "Got one," he told Valerie, tugging her hover board in the direction of where he felt the ghost.

Valerie allowed Danny to take over, which only served to prove how much she matured since high school. She was a take charge kind of woman and rarely liked to relinquish a leadership role. Danny could still remember all the head butting they used to do patrolling together in Amity Park. He guided the hover board to a small gas station with only a single pump that could be accessed by two vehicles at one time. It didn't look like a place that offered a big score for someone looking to rob it, but perhaps whoever was behind these ghost attacks was trying to fly under the radar by hitting spots which might go unnoticed. Luckily, the size of the business made no difference to Danny. He would sense wherever a ghost was stirring up trouble.

Danny kept them invisible as he phased them through the wall and into the gas station store. Valerie waited to observe the situation before acting, though Danny knew she was itching to leap into action and take out any ghost before harm could come to civilians. The gas station attendant raised her hands as terror reflected in her blue eyes. Her work uniform was ill fitting, hanging over her body almost like it was actually a man's shirt. The cursive stitching of the name Bob could suggest the same, but Danny knew the woman could easily be named Bob too. Perhaps it was a hand-me-down, and the gas station simply couldn't afford new uniforms each time they cycled in new employees. On the other side of the counter, a ghost hovered with its back to them. It appeared male and wore hip hugging pants and a sleeveless top four sizes too big on its bony dark blue body. Its short hair was brushed to the left side while the right side was shaved.

"Give me all your money," the ghost demanded in a deep gravelly voice.

That was their cue. Danny dropped the invisibility. Valerie put away her hover board, and her suit immediately transformed part of itself into an ecto-blaster. The gas station attendant screamed then dropped out of sight behind the counter. The ghost twisted around and scowled at them.

"Uh, the eye vein thing is new," Valerie murmured, slightly taken aback at the sight of the veins branching out from the ghost's bright green eyes.

"Did I forget to mention that?" Danny winced. "Um, I probably should have. Lots of things on my mind." He shrugged unhelpfully. "But we can discuss it after we deal with this guy?"

"Right. Priorities." Valerie aimed her ecto-blaster at the ghost. "Why are you robbing this place?"

"Money," the ghost growled.

"That's all I ever get out of them." Danny's mouth pursed as he wished these ghosts could give better answers.

Valerie huffed. "Yeah, money. But why do you need money?"

"Because I _need_ it!"

"You really think I didn't try asking that?" Danny placed his hands on his hips, frowning at Valerie.

"I don't know what you've tried!"

"I need the money!" the ghost shouted, and his energy blast surprised them both. It struck Danny in the chest, knocking him back into the row of glass doors along the back wall. "It's very important that I get this money."

"Okay!" Valerie raised her arms. "Let's just be calm about this."

Danny groaned as he rubbed his sore back. He hated being caught off guard like that. From the energy blast, the ghost didn't appear to be very strong. They could probably take the ghost down without breaking a sweat, but he wanted to keep this from turning into a fight if possible. They wouldn't get any answers out of the ghost if they were busy fighting him. He walked back over to where Valerie still stood.

"What exactly is so important that you have to steal other people's money?" Danny held a hand to his back, hoping it wouldn't bruise. He was sure Dash and Kwan would notice if he was wincing from a giant bruise on his back tomorrow.

"Because!" the ghost shouted and looked like he was on the verge of tears, to Danny's surprise. "Because she's sick, and she could _die_."

"She who?" Valerie questioned as she took a tentative step forward.

For the briefest second, Danny held onto hope, thinking he would finally get a lead as conflict played across the ghost's face. Then the ghost let out a battle cry as it charged at them. Danny shoved his way in front of Valerie. Spreading his hands before him, a shield of green ectoplasm appearing before him. The ghost's fist collided with it. He gritted his teeth in the struggle to break through the barrier and reach his target. Valerie fired a shot from her ecto-blaster. It nailed the ghost in the chest, knocking him to the floor. The ghost flailed on the way down, scattering bags of potato chips onto the floor. Danny popped the top of his Thermos then sucked the ghost inside before it could recover and try for another attack.

"That," Danny frowned as he closed the Thermos, "went well."

"We know there's a she involved?" Valerie offered, but even she looked doubtful about how the whole thing went. "And it sounds like she's still alive."

"Strange that a ghost would care so much for a living person though." Danny guessed it wasn't completely unheard of, if they were related in some way, but he couldn't imagine the varied ghosts he encountered recently would all care about saving someone still alive.

"Y-You're not going to kill me, are you?" The gas station attendant peeked over the top of the counter with fear still in her eyes.

Danny tucked away the Thermos. "It's okay now," he assured her with his hands held out to show he meant no harm. He lowered his gaze to the potato chip bags on the floor. "We'll just clean this up and be out of your hair." He crouched down and picked up some of the bags.

As Danny cleaned up the mess the ghost made, Valerie walked over to the counter. She leaned on it and set something, money Danny guessed, on the counter then slid it toward the attendant. "We'd really appreciate it if you didn't mention any of this to anyone. Nothing got stolen. No real damage happened to the store. So let's just forget about all of this happening. Okay?"

The attendant slowly stood up, keeping an eye on the money. "Who exactly are you people?"

"Just some friendly helpers hoping to keep people like you safe." If she wasn't wearing her helmet, Danny was certain Valerie would have winked at the woman. "That's all you really need to know."

Flustered, the woman bobbed her head. "Thank you so much."

Danny finished putting away the potato chips. After a look around, the place looked basically as they found it on arrival, minus one ghost. "Now that our work here is done, we should be leaving." Danny walked over to Valerie and took hold of her wrist. He shifted them to invisible before the attendant could say anything. Then he flew them up through the ceiling and landed on the rooftop where he released Valerie.

"How's your back?" Valerie pulled out her hover board.

"A bit sore, but I'll manage. Do you think we should keep looking?"

Valerie considered. "You do have that swim meet in the morning. Your team is counting on you, so you should probably get some rest."

Danny nodded. He would be no good as a coach if he was half dead with exhaustion. They took to the sky and flew back to the apartment.


	23. Chapter 23

Dash jerked awake. His legs were tangled within his blankets. His heart beat a little too fast. Sweat trickled down the back of his neck. He swiped his tongue across dry, chapped lips then swallowed thickly. That wasn't his usual type of dreams. In fact, he could say without a doubt he never had a dream like that. Ever. In his life. He dropped back onto his pillow and held his hands to his face.

"This is Valerie's fault," Dash muttered.

They spent the rest of their dinner chatting about the baseball and football games before moving onto other topics, like what was happening in their lives. Valerie was currently training for a big fight tournament. If she won, she would not only receive the champion's belt but fifty thousand dollars. Despite the shift in conversation, Dash couldn't seem to get a certain image out of his head, and it followed him into his dreams.

"This is ridiculous!" He threw his arms up then let them fall to his sides.

It wasn't unusual for him to wake up to dreams of a sexual nature. But those dreams tended to involve women he saw during the day or the occasional celebrity, but never did they include men. The image of Fenton in a little black Speedo with water dripping down his scarred chest crept into his brain again, and Dash nearly grabbed his pillow to shove over his face so he could scream into it. Why couldn't he get the image out of his head? And why was his body actually responding to it?

"Stop it, Dash," he grumbled to himself as he threw off his blankets. "You're just-" Frowning, he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. Just what, he didn't know. If he was simply frustrated, he could have found a woman to hook up with at a club. He could call Celeste about a date, but he just didn't feel the desire to pursue a relationship with her. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her. Celeste actually seemed like a perfect match to him. Dash knew it was all his problem. He could explain why he wasn't feeling anything toward her.

Maybe something was wrong with him. Dash got of bed then walked over to his closet to grab some clothes. Maybe it was some issue wrong in his head. Maybe his father messed him up more than he realized. With a sigh, Dash picked out his clothes for the day, tossing them onto his bed. Then he left his room. He needed a cold shower after the dream that woke him. Thankfully, his roommates and their guest weren't up yet. Dash slipped into the bathroom, stripped, and hopped into the shower. He almost jumped right back out when the cold water blasted against his board back.

He stood still, letting the water wash over him as his mind went blank. Maybe if he stopped thinking for a while, it would act like a reset to his brain, and he would start thinking normally again. He knew it probably sounded silly, but he didn't want to consider what the implications of his morning dream meant. Why would it be Fenton of all people? Grabbing his bottle of body wash, he got to work scrubbing himself clean. He didn't want to take up too much time when there were three other people in the apartment who might all want to take a shower too.

Dash was out of the shower after a matter of minutes. He patted himself dry with a towel then wrapped it around his waist. A few droplets of water fell from his hair, hitting his shoulders and sliding down his chest. He opened the door to step out but stopped short when someone stood in his way. Fenton stared at him, and Dash stared back, gulping as his dream smashed its way back to the forefront of his mind. The awkward silence stretched on for more than a minute.

"All yours!" Dash stepped aside, gesturing with one arm to the bathroom. Perhaps he said it a bit too loudly, but he didn't stop to think too long about it. He turned on his heel and quickly walked back to his room. Once the door shut behind him, Dash released his breath, slapping a hand to his chest.

_This is one hundred percent Valerie's fault_. Dash raked a hand through his damp locks as he walked over to his bed. Why did she even make a comment about Fenton in a Speedo? Was it simply because she wanted some kind of reaction, like him choking on his water? Pulling off his towel, Dash dried his hair then tossed the towel aside. _Just keep it out of your mind. It was just one dream_. He hoped it remained as one weird dream and didn't turn into some kind of recurring pattern.

Dash dressed quickly then tugged on a warm knitted sweater. He peered out of his room, almost tentatively, but Fenton wasn't anywhere in sight. The bathroom door remained closed. Dash headed for the kitchen to start on breakfast. He opened the refrigerator and stared at the contents. What could he make for everyone? They ate eggs yesterday. Then an idea hit him. Pancakes to celebrate Kwan's baseball team winning. Smiling widely to himself, he got out what he would need and began.

He was pouring his second round of pancakes into the pan when Kwan emerged from his bedroom. His knitted pajama pants sagged, and his T-shirt was wrinkled from sleep. His dark hair stuck up at odd angles. Valerie trailed after him in warm sweat pants and a pale yellow tank top. Her hair, somehow, only looked slightly mussed, but not in the messy way. It was like in those movies where the woman wakes up looking beautiful with nearly perfect hair. Dash wondered if she learned some sort of technique from Paulina, or perhaps she simply ran a brush through her hair before leaving the room.

"Oh, pancakes!" Valerie reached to take one from the stack, but Dash slapped her hand with his spatula.

"Kwan has first pick," Dash said as he flipped the batch in the pan. "Since he won his game."

"The team did all the work." Kwan covered his mouth with a hand as he yawned widely. He leaned against the counter with bags under his eyes.

Had Kwan always looked so tired? Should Dash be worried for his friend? Maybe he should kidnap Kwan for a day of relaxation, but they had Fenton's swim meet to attend first. Dash glanced toward the bathroom door when it opened. Fenton shuffled back to his room, most likely to get dressed for the meet. Dash frowned, thinking Fenton looked maybe a little stressed. He snapped his focus back to breakfast before he could let the pancakes burn. By the time Fenton came out to join them, Dash had a large stack of pancakes ready.

"How are you feeling about the meet?" Kwan asked, slicing into the pancakes he piled onto his plate. Once he took his share, the others snatched up the rest, eager to dig in and begin eating.

"A little nervous," Fenton admitted, his stack smaller than what everyone else took. "I have faith in the boys, but, well, we are starting as the underdogs. I'll be satisfied if we manage third place in some of the races."

Dash narrowed his eyes when he noticed Fenton sitting stiffly. It reminded him of how he would sit when he had a sore back from football. Fenton sat normally last night at dinner, which meant it happened after they went to bed. Dash frowned. Fenton went to bed first. Unless he sneaked out, a back injury didn't make sense. Dash kept watching his roommate as the others talked and ate their breakfast. Then he shook his head. Maybe he was being silly, seeing things that weren't really there. He blamed it on the dream. Would he have noticed anything different if the dream hadn't made him overly aware of Fenton's presence?

Fenton checked his watch. "Oh!" He wiped his mouth with a towel. "I should head off now. Um," he glanced at the others, "don't feel like you need to rush or anything. The meet doesn't start for a while. I just have to get there early and get the team ready. It's okay if you're late too." He shrugged like it didn't matter to him one way or the other.

"Hey, we aren't going to miss this." Valerie bumped a fist against his shoulder as she grinned.

Dash almost cursed when she beat him to it. "Yeah," he agreed, "after missing you coaching in action at practice, Kwan and I have been waiting for this."

A light flush colored Fenton's cheeks. Perhaps he forgot about their missed chance to watch his practice. "R-Right. I guess I'll see you there then." He grabbed his coat and bag. After a quick round of goodbyes, he disappeared out the door.

"Was he walking a bit stiffly?" Kwan asked, frowning at the closed door. It didn't surprise Dash that Kwan picked up on it, especially after learning about all the scars on Fenton's body. Kwan could turn into quite the mother hen about that sort of thing, but Dash couldn't deny he was worried too. It _did_ surprise him that Kwan waited until after Fenton left to mention it. Normally, Kwan would fuss over any kind of injury the second he noticed it.

"Ah, you know, it's probably just nerves," Valerie said, gathering up her dishes. "Big swim meet and all. And with you two coming? He's probably worried about making a fool of himself in front of you because you'll likely tease him about it endlessly afterwards."

"I would never!" Dash argued.

"You kind of would." Kwan winced when Dash shot him a glare. "You may have matured, and you get along better with Danny now, but some things about you haven't changed. You still poke at him for having a girlfriend." He walked over to join Valerie at the sink to clean their dishes, leaving Dash to take care of Fenton's dishes as well as his own.

"Okay!" Dash huffed as he climbed to his feet. "Maybe I _do_ tease him." Picking up the dirty dishes, he carried them to the sink then scowled when he noticed the snickering from the other two. "Let's hurry up and get the dishes done so we can go." He grabbed the sponge and scrubbed the plates clean, ignoring his friends. He _knew_ the two of them were holding a secret conversation of looks behind his back, but he refused to acknowledge it.

Once the dishes were finished, Kwan and Valerie went to get dressed. Dash dropped onto the couch and leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling. He had a few minutes of blissfully thinking of nothing at all before Kwan and Valerie left the bedroom again. Turning around, Dash rested his folded arms over the back of the couch. They still looked like a cute, picture perfect couple, even though they broke up within the first few months of their freshmen year. Did they sit up at night coordinating their outfits so they complemented each other? Pondering about when Kwan last went out with someone, Dash's mouth pursed slightly as he realized he couldn't even remember the name of the person Kwan dated.

"I was thinking," Dash said as he stood, "since Fenton has that date tonight, we should have a day of relaxation after the meet."

"Like going to a spa?" Valerie asked, accepting the coat Kwan handed her.

"Uh, or you know, just vegging on the couch watching movies." Dash shrugged. He hadn't thought the whole thing out, but Kwan looked like he could use a day without doing anything strenuous.

"Wow." Kwan grinned as he shrugged on his coat. "We haven't done a movie night in forever. You really want to leave Danny out of it though?"

Dash almost felt bad about cutting Fenton out of the picture. "I mean, he has the date and all. But we'll probably still be watching stuff when he comes back from it. He can join us then."

"That's assuming he comes home tonight," Kwan pointed out. "You never know how a date might go. Get the right mood going, and Danny might just decide to stay the night over at her place."

Valerie elbowed him, not looking too thrilled with Kwan's comment. "I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing Danny again tonight."

"What makes you so sure?" Dash grabbed his own coat before they left the apartment.

"Did you forget that I dated him?" Valerie lifted an eyebrow. "Maybe I'm wrong," she hunched up her shoulders, "but I don't think tonight's the night for him. It took at least five dates before he kissed me. Plus, I've heard a story or two about his other relationships. Danny hasn't exactly been quick to jump into bed with someone." She snapped a glare at him like she was daring him to say something immature.

Dash raised his hands. He did _not_ want to get into an argument with her.

"Why is it we keep coming back to Danny's sex life?" Kwan wondered as they headed down the hall. "It's not really our business unless he wants to tell us about it." He turned his gaze on Dash, who stiffened, afraid he would receive another angry lecture. "You seem pretty quiet about what's happening with that woman from Halloween?"

Dash shrugged. "There's not much to tell there."

"Whoa." Valerie stopped walking. "You haven't gone on a second date yet?" She glanced him over like she thought perhaps someone replaced her friend with a pod person. Dash shifted uncomfortably. "Is something wrong? Or is this some maturing thing going on?"

"Oh, ha, ha." Dash rolled his eyes. "And how do you know we haven't set up a second date?"

"Well, you clearly have no date plans tonight." Kwan cracked a smirk, and Dash gave him a small shove.

"Okay. Okay. No more talking about Fenton and his dating life," Dash promised.

"You do seem awfully focused on it though." Valerie eyed him suspiciously.

"It's something going on in his life. Am I not supposed to take an interest in it?" Dash threw up his hands. Did he spend too much time thinking about Fenton's love life? It never occurred to him until Valerie mentioned it. After his dream that morning, Dash worried about the reason behind this interest. "If Kwan was dating someone, I'd be talking about that too. And you're always happy to talk about what's going with you and Paulina. Isn't this part of being friends? Discussing our relationships?"

"Yeah, but you've always had this bizarre interest when it came to Danny." Kwan's mouth pursed to one side as he stared at his friend. Was that disappointment in his eyes? Dash couldn't be certain.

"Now you're throwing high school in my face?" Dash huffed. "He was a loser then. It was basically my duty to pick on him. Of course, _now_ , I realize how immature that whole A List thing was with all the labels. But back then, we all bought into it. You can't blame me for falling along, no matter how dumb of me it was."

"So," Valerie popped open the back door of the car once Dash unlocked it, "what do you do when you find the kids at your school bullying others?"

"We try to step in and stop it," Kwan answered as he buckled his seatbelt, "but we can't catch it happening all the time. A lot of them wait until they know a teacher isn't going to be around to catch them in the act. But we try our best to keep an eye on the students we suspect are bullying others."

"Good. Because if you were ignoring the bullying in your school, I'd have to do something about it." Valerie shot both of them a sharp glare.

"We have definitely learned from our past." Dash wasn't simply saying it to keep on Valerie's good side. College was a changing point for him. Getting away from his father definitely helped to open his eyes to just how bad his actions during high school were. Thinking back on his reaction to the dream, though, he worried he wasn't quite as free from his father's way of thinking as he thought he was. "Okay." He pulled out of the parking spot. "Time to cheer on the swim team."


	24. Chapter 24

Kwan knew exactly what Valerie was trying to do with her comment last night at dinner. Why she was trying to put thoughts into his head when Danny was already dating someone, Kwan could only guess. Even if his feelings developed into something more, he would never dare to break up Danny and Hayley, who seemed like a nice enough woman. He never liked when that sort of thing happened in the romance shows Dash liked to watch.

But it would be a lie if he said Valerie didn't manage to put the image into his head. Danny was a good looking man with the lean muscles of a swimmer's body. The scars left Kwan worrying about him, but they didn't detract from his physical attraction. If Danny did wear a Speedo during the swim meet, Kwan doubted he would be the only suffering from naughty thoughts. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to shove the image out of his mind.

Kwan frowned, staring out the window of the car as they drove to the swim meet. Valerie might have said Danny's stiffness was because of nerves, but Kwan wasn't so sure about that. The way Danny sat looked more like a back injury, and Kwan knew quite a bit about sore backs, especially after the number of times Dash got tackled during practices or games. Maybe he was seeing something that wasn't there. Dash liked to call him a mother hen whenever he fussed over an injury. After learning about the scars on Danny's body, Kwan double checked their first aid kit to be certain it was well stocked. Maybe he was being too fussy, but he still planned to keep an eye on Danny during the meet.

He nearly jumped out of his thoughts when he felt something buzzing at his hip. He pulled out his phone and found a message from Valerie.

[ _Guess we'll have 2 put off the club_.]

Kwan was all too happy to have a night of clubbing cancelled for a night of relaxing and watching movies. "We should probably make sure to pick up some snacks for our movie night. I don't think we have much in the way of good movie watching snacks in the apartment." He typed out his reply while he talked. [how sad! was really looking forward to it]

Valerie snorted from the backseat. [ _Liar!_ ]

"We can make a stop at the store after the swim meet," Dash suggested.

"Do they have any of those pretzels with the chocolate and peanut butter inside?"

"Those are still your favorites?" Kwan glanced over his shoulder with a small chuckle.

"Of course!" Valerie grinned. [ _i guess u'd rather spend the night with Dash and Danny ;)_ ]

Kwan's face heated up, his blush almost reaching to his ears. Was his blush only at the idea of spending a night lounging with Dash? Or did Danny have a hand in it too? Could it be both? Kwan held back a frustrated groan, not needing to have a crush on both his roommates when neither was available to him. He shot a glare at Valerie, who barely managed to hold back a snicker.

"I don't know what you two are talking about, but if you can't say it in front of me, please don't text it behind my back," Dash grumbled, glowering at Kwan then at Valerie through the rear view mirror.

"We were just making a list of things we should pick up for movie night," Valerie explained, the lie falling from her lips a little too easily. "Anything you want on the list?"

Dash's eyes narrowed a fraction. "You probably already have drinks, chips, and popcorn on the list. But we should probably get some healthy snacks too."

"Of course," Valerie agreed with a smirk as she pretended to add some ideas to her "list." Or maybe she was making an actual list as proof for later.

A few stop lights later, Dash pulled the car into a slot in the high school's parking lot. "Is this place bigger than our school?" He squinted at the building stretching out before them.

"I think it's one of the private schools." Kwan climbed out of the car. "I don't think my team has ever played a game here though."

"It's definitely my first time here." Dash locked the doors once they all exited the car. "Let's go find the pool." He shoved his hands into his coat pockets as he shuffled forward toward the school.

Valerie linked her arm with Kwan's arm as they followed after Dash. "Have you ever been to a swim meet before?"

Kwan shook his head. "Do they really wear those Speedos?" Why wouldn't it leave his brain already?

Valerie grinned like she could read the thoughts passing through his head. "No, they're more like shorts now. Skin tight shorts. Though I think some like to wear the ones that go all the way to the ankle." She rolled her eyes when Kwan's eyebrow inched up toward his hairline. "I went to a few swim meets during college."

"You're so mean," Kwan whispered under his breath with a shake of his head. They walked a few more steps before he asked quietly, "Which was Danny: shorts or pants?" A heated blush washed over his face when he saw the wicked smirk on his friend's face.

"Shorts, but I bet the pants would look good on him too. Which do you think he'd look best in?"

"We're not talking about this anymore." Kwan glared when Valerie laughed.

"Not talking about what?" Dash held open the door for them.

"Oh, you know, which romance drama you'd want to watch first."

"Shh!" Dash shot a glance around, his cheeks turning red. "Don't talk about that out loud!"

"You don't know anyone here." Valerie rolled her eyes as they walked through the school halls looking for the pool. "Or are you afraid Danny is somehow going to find out? I assume you've been keeping your love of romances secret from him."

"He keeps it secret from pretty much everyone outside our little circle," Kwan said in a poor side whisper. He chuckled when Dash punched him, not too hard, on the shoulder.

"If you're worried about his reaction, I don't think Danny will care much what kind of movies and shows you like to watch." Valerie shrugged. "He'll watch pretty much anything, but I'd stay away from horror type movies."

"Why? Does he scare easy?" Dash cracked a crooked grin.

Valerie opened her mouth then reconsidered whatever she was about to say. "More like saving you from having to listen to his long explanations about how poorly done everything is in those kinds of movies." She mimed falling asleep out of boredom to prove her point.

"Noted," Dash said with a grimacing frown.

"Oh, I think we found it," Kwan said when he heard the cheers of fans coming from behind a set of double doors. They pushed the doors open and entered as the crowd exploded into louder cheers. The strong scent of chlorine struck Kwan's nose and brought back memories of going swimming during high school summers. In the pool, one swimmer ripped off his goggles and cap and celebrated coming in first place in the race.

"There's Fenton." Dash nodded toward him.

Danny stood with his team, probably giving them a pep talk before their turn to race came. Several of the young men shifted nervously, and one actually looked green in the face. Most of them wore the skin tight shorts, black with a blue streak down the sides, but one of them chose the ankle length pants.

Kwan followed after Valerie and Dash as they looked for open seats in the stands to watch the rest of the meet. Swimming, as a sport, never interested him much. It wasn't that he thought it was boring, but it never drew his attention the way other sports did. He ended up squished between Valerie and Dash in the crowded stands. There were far more fans cheering on the racers than Kwan would have imagined. He felt a little guilty about expecting the stands to be far more empty. He focused on rooting for their school's swimmers, which was easier said than done when Dash was pressed up against one side of him.

They cheered for their school whenever any members of their team were in the race. Many of them came seconds from placing third, and a good handful lagged behind too much to come in fifth. Their strongest swimmer managed to nab a third place ranking in his race, but Kwan caught a flash of disappointment on Danny's face. It happened too quickly and he doubted anyone else noticed it, but it left him wondering why Danny wouldn't be overjoyed by getting the third place. The slight twinge every now and then when Danny moved around didn't help put Kwan's mind at ease.

When the meet ended, Kwan got up with his friends, and they made their way, slowly, down from the stands. It took several minutes to reach the bottom of the small staircase with the rest of the crowd trying to leave too. Danny was still talking to the team when they found him.

"Okay. I'll meet you all back on the bus," Danny said after spotting the three of them walking over to him. He waited until his team left before turning to them. "Hey, you all made it!" He smiled a little as he tugged on his ear. "I hope you weren't too bored though."

Dash shook his head. "It was surprisingly fun."

"You got third place in one. That's great!" Kwan grinned. Should he question Danny about that hint of disappointment?

Valerie leaned on Danny. "Your team looks pretty good. Not up to the level of your college team, but you'll get them there."

"I hope I can be as good as-" Danny jerked forward a step when someone slapped him hard on the back.

The man released a hearty laugh, standing a good head taller than Danny. His black hair was slicked back, and his grin showed off bright white teeth against his deep brown skin. "Well, if it isn't little Fenton." He dropped a hand on Danny's head and ruffled his hair.

"Who's this?" Dash glared at the man.

"Ah, this is-" Danny started only to be cut off as the man pushed forward to hold out his hand to them.

"Will Bishop." He shook their hands. "Danny and I used to compete back in college." He slapped his hand against Danny's back a second time, earning a wince from Danny. "Who would have ever guessed we'd be coaching opposing teams?"

"I was pretty surprised," Danny admitted. "But, uh, I should probably get back to the bus. I'm sure my team has other plans than spending the rest of their Saturday on the bus."

"Ah." Will frowned, disappointed. "Well, we can talk again later." He patted Danny's shoulder before he walked off.

"So I'll see you all back at the apartment." Danny shifted his weight. "I've got a couple of hours before my date."

"You might actually beat us back." Valerie stared off, distracted, before snapping her gaze back to Danny. "We've got a few things to pick up for watching movies tonight."

"Aw, movie night!" Danny groaned, his shoulders slumping as he frowned in clear disappointment. "That sounds really fun."

"Well, since it's Saturday, we'll probably watch late into the night. So, you know." Dash rolled his shoulder, trying to play it off cool.

Danny nodded. "Okay. Yeah. Um, right. Okay. I should get back to the bus. I don't want to keep the team waiting." Was he flustered?

"Okay. See you back at the apartment." Valerie gave a small wave. She turned to leave, and Dash followed after her.

Kwan hesitated then grabbed Danny's wrist as he turned to head for the bus. "Wait. Um," he raked a hand through hair, now feeling awkward about it, "I just - Did you hurt your back?"

Danny blinked, then his eyes darted away. "Oh, uh, you know," he shrugged, "when I got up this morning, I stretched and I think I may have pulled something. But I'm sure it'll go away soon."

Kwan's mouth tugged downward. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Danny grinned. "But thanks for worrying about me." He patted Kwan on the shoulder, and reluctantly Kwan released his wrist.

"Okay. I guess I just worry too much." Kwan lowered his gaze.

"That's just what friends do for each other." Danny squeezed his shoulder. "I can't tell how many times my friends worried about me for one reason or another. And now I really should get going. I don't think patience is a virtue many teenagers have."

"Yeah," Kwan laughed, "don't let me keep you then." They parted ways, and Kwan hurried to catch up with Dash and Valerie.

"What was that about?" Dash asked when Kwan rejoined them. His expression was hard to read but didn't seem too happy.

"Oh, just asking Danny something." Kwan frowned when he caught the smirk on Valerie's face, like she suspected he stayed behind to confess to Danny. "In case there were any snacks he wanted us to get if he comes back in time to join us." Valerie nodded to his response, but it was more of the "uh huh, sure" variety of nods. Kwan ignored it as he opened the passenger's side door. "Let's hurry up and get those snacks."

They had to wait for a bit before they could get out of the parking lot with everyone trying to leave at the same time. Once they were free of the parking lot, Dash drove them to their usual grocery store. Kwan got out the pad of paper they kept stored in the glove compartment and handed it to Valerie so she could write out her list then split it up among the three of them.

"And Kwan can take care of grabbing whatever Danny wants," Valerie said as she handed out the lists. "Since he asked."

Kwan rolled his eyes as he took his list. "Okay, okay. Let's be quick. I'm looking forward to spending the rest of the day just hanging out and watching movies." Kwan grabbed a basket as he glanced over his list to see which items he needed to get. After they agreed to meet in line when they got everything, he walked down an aisle, searching for the snacks on his list.

"I'm trying to work. Can we talk later? I really can't afford to lose this job."

Kwan peeked down the next aisle, surprised to see Jeremy stocking the shelf with bags of potato chips.

"You always say that." The woman standing next to him folded her arms as she rolled her eyes. "I have a job too, but you seem to be working during your every free hour. Honestly it's a wonder you manage to keep up your grades."

Jeremy sighed as he finished stocking several bags. "I really need the money from this job. You know that. My sister's hospital bills are pretty expensive. My parents could use all the help they can get paying for things."

"How is your sister doing?"

"She's stable." Jeremy frowned. "Her immune system isn't so good, is what I got from all the doctor talk. They think she'll be able to come home soon, but the bills." He shook his head. Then he folded his arms and leaned on the unpacked cardboard boxes. "So what exactly did you want to tell me?"

The woman frowned at the news about Jeremy's sister. "Oh! Right!" Excitement lit up her face. "So I was at work, you know graveyard shift and all, pretty boring. Then, out of nowhere, this dude pops up demanding money. I was totally freaking out. He was creepy looking. Then, just like in some movie, these heroes just poof!" She held up her fists then sprang her fingers outward. "They fought the guy. They were pretty cool. And the one dude just sucked up the guy into this thermos thing." She made a popping sound with her mouth as she mimed slapping a cap back onto a thermos. "They even picked up the mess afterward."

Kwan walked toward them, crossing the distance in a few long strides. The woman spotted his approach first, her eyes growing wide as she backed away a step. Jeremy turned then gulped as his eyes met Kwan's gaze.

"Uh, h-hey, Coach!" Jeremy tried to smile, but it wavered then fell.

"What did those people look like?" Kwan questioned, his attention focusing on the woman. "The ones who stopped the robber."

"Um," she hesitated, looking frightened by him.

Kwan forced himself to relax and offer an encouraging smile. "Sorry. I accidentally overheard, and I was just curious if you could describe what they looked like for me."

"This is my coach," Jeremy side whispered to the woman. "You don't have to be scared of him."

She frowned in uncertainty. "Um, well, I couldn't really see what the woman looked like since she wore a helmet, but she was dressed in this really cool black and red suit. The guy had white hair, which had to be fake, and green eyes. I guess he didn't really care about hiding his face." She shrugged. "His suit was kind of lame though. Boring black and white. No imagination to it at all."

"Thanks." Kwan smiled. "Um," he rubbed the back of his neck as he bowed his head slightly, "sorry if I gave you a scare. Curiosity got the better of me."

"Oh, it's no problem." She smiled and waved it off, though Kwan suspected she still thought he was weird.

"I should probably get back to my shopping. Sorry for interrupting." Kwan turned to Jeremy and pointed a finger at him. "I'm glad you want to help out your family, but don't let it distract you from your studies. I doubt your parents would be happy if you let your grades slide and started failing classes."

Jeremy winced. "Right. I'll work extra hard on my homework when my shift is over."

Kwan nodded, satisfied with the answer. He grabbed a couple bags of the chips they liked then turned to leave the aisle. Why didn't Jeremy simply tell him this was the reason his grades took a dip? Kwan guessed it could be hard speaking about such a sensitive topic. He walked down the next aisle to grab the other items on his list. Why were Phantom and the Red Huntress here? But from the story, it sounded like a ghost tried to rob where the woman worked. Kwan frowned at that bit of unusualness. A ghost robbing a place? For money? He shook his head, not understanding the logic in it. Then he groaned. Dash was right about those articles he mentioned earlier.


	25. Chapter 25

Danny rubbed at his forehead. When he woke up this morning, his brain was still running a mile a minute trying to figure out his current ghost problem. The ghost robbing the gas station gave them a clue: the money was to help save a woman's life. But what woman was the problem. Was she old or young? Was she in a hospital? If so, what hospital? If he thought about the locations where he encountered the ghosts, they were all within a small radius. The nearest hospital to that radius was the same one he went to on Halloween. Could the woman be there? Was she the one manipulating these ghosts somehow? Or was someone else behind it?

If his ghost problems weren't enough to keep his thoughts occupied, his morning just had to begin by running into Dash as he came right out of the shower. Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. He could do without the image of Dash in only a towel with water still dripping down his bare chest. His quite muscular bare chest with the water sliding over smooth, lightly tanned flesh. Dash was an attractive man. Kwan was too. But the last thing Danny wanted to do was develop any sort of romantic feelings for his roommates.

A slap to his back jerked him out of his thoughts, and he gritted his teeth at the slight sting. Danny thought he hid his sore back well until Kwan questioned him about it. His ghost powers healed him faster than a normal person, but the large bruise on his back still needed a little more time for a full recovery. Hopefully, he could keep Kwan from questioning it again before then.

"What do you want?" Danny shot a glare at the man who now walked beside him. "And since when are you living here? I thought you decided to move to the east coast after college."

"I did, but I had a better job opportunity here." Will shrugged. "Which turned out to be a good thing since I met my wife here. She's pregnant." He grinned as he crossed his fingers. "Hoping for a boy."

"That's great!" Danny smiled then leaned closer to Will. "Does she know about, um," he lowered his gaze, "your scaly issue?"

Will rolled his dark brown eyes. "Yes, she knows I'm a merman. She happens to be a mermaid." He folded his arms. "But I was surprised to see you here. I didn't know you wanted to be a coach."

Danny shrugged. "It felt like the right career move. And I have a good team here. They're making good progress."

"Your best swimmer could use a little work on those turns."

"We're dealing with that." Danny stared flatly at Will. "We can't all be one with the water and sense exactly where the wall is for turns."

Will snorted. "You say that like you're a normal human. Do your friends know about your _spirit_ issue?"

"Valerie does. But you better not say a word to my roommates." Danny pointed a finger threateningly.

Will held up his hands. "When have I ever let your secret slip? Besides, you're keeping mine." He hunched up his shoulders then leaned closer to Danny as a wicked smirk danced across his face. "So which one are you dating?" 

"W-What?" Danny sputtered, heat rushing over his cheeks. "I'm not dating either of them!"

"Oh." Will blinked in surprise with a lift of his thick eyebrows. "Well, I just thought, because they're totally your type. And that blond one seemed awfully jealous when he saw me acting friendly with you."

"Now you're seeing things. Better get those eyes checked."

"Right." Will nodded but didn't look convinced. "I'm the blind one."

"Hey! I have a girlfriend. We're going on a date tonight."

Will backed up a step. "Hey, I'm just saying it seemed like there was a lot of sexual tension all around. But what do I know?"

"How old are you again?" Danny squinted. "You might be going senile."

"Har, har." Will shook his head. "Maybe when my little one is born, you could come round. My wife doesn't believe a half ghost could exist. I'd love to prove her wrong on that."

Danny rolled his eyes at the small smirk on Will's face. "Yeah, sure. But," he nodded toward the bus not too far away, "I should really get back to my team."

"Right." Will nodded. "Catch you later." He slapped a hand against Danny's shoulder before he left.

Danny released a sigh as he continued toward the bus. Sometimes he forgot how exhausting it was dealing with the merman. Going off to college helped open his eyes to the existence of more than just ghosts. He once had a vampire for a neighbor who would ask him to get prescriptions during the day because the pharmacy tended to close before she could get there to pick them up. There was a harpy that liked to roost on the roof of his dorm building freshmen year. And he definitely didn't want to get on the bad side of another witch. No matter where he lived, he seemed to run into someone that wasn't completely human.

_Maybe I'm drawing them to me_ , Danny thought with a slight frown as he climbed onto the bus. He hoped that wasn't the case, though, because he didn't need them always coming to him, whether or not they stirred up trouble.

The bus ride back to their school was quiet, a cloud hanging over the team. They were excited about Hector getting third place in his race and the ones who managed to beat their previous best times. But the meet only showed them how much they needed to improve to compete against stronger schools. Danny knew they could do it though. They might be down about their failure to place now, but he would get them back on track during their next practice.

After a brief pep talk, not wanting to keep the team too long on a Saturday, Danny dismissed the team. Then he made his way back to the apartment. He checked his watch and winced when he saw it was much later than he thought. By the time he reached the apartment, he had enough time for a shower and get dressed for his date. On his way to the bathroom, he looked around the apartment, but the others weren't back yet. He hopped into the shower, taking his time to thoroughly scrub himself clean. Rubbing a hand over his chin and throat, he felt a little scruffiness. After getting out of the shower, he grabbed his razor from where it sat next to Kwan's.

"We're back," Kwan called out as Danny finished up in the bathroom.

Danny dried off then dressed before he left the bathroom. "That is a lot of snacks." His eyebrows lifted when he saw all the bags his roommates and Valerie carried with them.

"Well, this is a day to just kick back and relax." Dash set his bags down on the counter in the kitchen. "We can work it off tomorrow or something." He unpacked the various bags and boxes from within his bags. "And it's not all junk food. We got some stuff on the healthy side too."

"Are you going to be able to watch some movies with us before your date?" Valerie asked with maybe a hint of hope in her eyes.

"I can't stay long if I want to be on time for my date." Danny winced, feeling a little guilty. He would enjoy watching some movies with everyone, but he didn't want to show up late and make Hayley wait on him. He had that happen too many times in the past because of ghosts and other beings popping up to delay him. He thought Valerie probably understood as she nodded while helping Dash pull their snacks out of the bags.

"We'll try not to go through all the movies and eat all the snacks before you get back." Kwan's mouth curled in a small teasing smile.

"Right," Danny said too quickly. "I should go finish getting ready." He turned and headed into his bedroom, nearly banging into the doorframe. Closing the door behind him, he pinched at the bridge of his nose. He did not feel a little flutter of something just because of that smile. "Get yourself together," he muttered as he walked over to his closet. "You're already dating someone. You can't let yourself be distracted by fleeting thoughts just because your roommates are attractive."

Will was right. Dash and Kwan fit with the description of men he dated in the past. Danny never considered this problem coming up when he agreed to be their roommates. How could he? He originally thought things wouldn't work out because of their past. But in the end, anything he felt didn't matter if neither of his roommates liked him that way. Danny shoved those thoughts away. They were merely a distraction he didn't need at the moment. He had Hayley. Then there was the whole ghost problem to sort out. His plate was full enough already without more complications being piled onto it.

Danny got out the clothes for his date and changed into them, a nice dress shirt and dark slacks. He ran a brush through his still somewhat damp hair then checked his reflection in the mirror. Frowning, his gaze fixed on the locks of black hair that refused to obey and stuck out like sore thumbs. His hair never seemed to do what he wanted unless he used a ton of gel to slick it back, and he thought that style looked bad on him. Sighing in defeat, he left his room.

Valerie and Kwan were already getting cozy on the couch, draping a blanket over their laps. Dash crouched by the television, sorting through their collection of movies as he tried to decide on first pick of the night. Danny raked a hand through his hair, trying one last time to tame some of those wild locks as he walked over to the closet to grab his coat.

"Have fun on your date," Valerie said, twisting around to lean on the back of the couch.

"Enjoy movie night." Danny shrugged on his coat. "I'll see you when I get back. If you're not all asleep by then."

Valerie snorted in response. After a round of goodbyes, Danny stepped out of the apartment. Pulling out his phone, he checked the name of the restaurant where he was to meet Hayley. Capitani sounded like it might be an Italian place. He caught a cab and told the driver where to take him. Settling into the backseat of the cab, he watched the buildings pass by him. If he ignored the whole ghost problem right now, his life almost felt normal. He frowned at the strip of darkening sky he could see through the window. But normal never felt like a possibility for him, and he kept wondering when things were going to fall apart.

The cab parked outside Capitani, and Danny paid the fare before climbing out of the car. The restaurant was a quaint little place with cream colored stone walls and ivy vines crawling up the sides. Danny opened the polished wood door and was greeted by a waiter who smiled warmly.

"Table for one?" he asked, pulling out a menu. "Or are you waiting for someone?"

"Um," Danny glanced around the restaurant, "actually it looks like my date is already here." He spotted Hayley waiting at a small table toward the back. When she noticed him, she smiled and waved. Danny followed after the waiter to the table. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long," he said as he sat down. He winced, realizing he was late the last time they met somewhere for a date.

Hayley shook her head. "I barely sat down."

"I'll give you a few minutes to look over the menu," the waiter said before departing.

"This seems like a pretty nice place." Danny looked around as he opened his menu. He noticed a lot of other tables occupied by only two people, and his face warmed slightly when he realized this was probably a popular place for couples.

Hayley nodded, flicking her gaze briefly around the room. "I heard about this place ages ago but never had the occasion to come here. I thought it might be a good place for our date."

"It is," Danny agreed, and when he smiled, Hayley smiled back. They ordered as soon as the waiter stopped by again, dropping off glasses of water for each of them. "You seem happy?" Maybe he was reading things wrong, but Hayley had this energy about her that practically glowed with joy.

"Oh, well, today was-" Hayley said excitedly before her attention drifted, something catching her eye. "Is that Celeste?"

"Cele- Who?" Danny glanced around in confusion until he spotted the brunette sitting in the bar area of the restaurant. "Oh." Now he remembered Celeste was Dash's date for their Halloween party. He frowned as he stared at her. "Does she seem a little-"

"Oh, I hope she wasn't stood up!" Hayley frowned. "That would be terrible!"

"Well, she didn't have a date with Dash." Danny couldn't recall Dash saying anything about a date, but he doubted his roommate would stand up a date just to stay home and watch movies. His opinion of Dash may not have always been the best, but he simply couldn't see Dash being that kind of jerk who selfishly stood up his date without even a call of explanation.

"Let's go say hi." Hayley was up and out of her chair before he could respond.

Danny followed after her to the bar. Celeste stirred the straw in her drink. She jumped when Hayley tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey!" Hayley greeted happily. "We saw over here and thought we should say hi."

"Oh, hey!" Celeste smiled. "I was just waiting on my order to be ready."

"Oh, well, um," Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "maybe you could sit with us until then. Just so you don't have to sit here alone."

Celeste looked at him then to Hayley. "Oh no. No, no." She shook her head. "I don't want to barge in on your date."

"It's no problem!" Hayley grabbed Celeste's hand. "We'd be happy to have you join us."

"Um, well, if it's really okay." Celeste still looked uncertain but picked up her drink and followed them back to their table. "My food shouldn't take too much longer."

"It's fine," Hayley assured her, waving down a waiter to bring over an extra chair. "We wouldn't have offered if we didn't want you to join us." She took her seat again as the waiter set the chair down for Celeste. "Uh, so where were we?" She glanced to Danny.

After swallowing his sip of water, Danny set the glass back on the table. "You were going to tell me why you seem so happy."

"Oh, right!" Hayley grinned. "I had my audition for that play this morning."

"That's great!" Celeste said before Danny could get a word out.

"Nothing's for certain just yet. But," Hayley held up crossed fingers, "the director seemed to really like me."

"You have to tell me when it is so I can come see it. Oh, and I would love to know where you got that Halloween costume. It looked great."

"I'm sure you'll get the part," Danny jumped in. "It's really amazing that you're doing this."

Hayley flushed brightly. "It was pretty scary. I didn't think I'd ever get up the courage for it, but I just went out there and did it. It felt pretty amazing after I got off the stage after the audition." Her blush darkened as she looked to Celeste. "Actually, I made the costume."

Celeste's eyes widened. "I could never do something like that."

"It's not as hard as you might think. I could show you sometime."

"Really? Hm," Celeste thought for a moment, "I think I have some free time next weekend."

"Let me give you my number, and we can talk about a time to meet up." Hayley dug inside her purse to pull out her phone.

Danny watched the exchange, feeling like he was the third wheel at the table. "So, um-"

"Oh!" Hayley's eyes lit up excitedly. "I think there's a sale. We can go look at some patterns and fabrics."

Danny sipped his water as Hayley and Celeste made plans to hang out next weekend for a sewing lesson. He almost piped up a few times to join them, but his skills leaned more toward needlepoint, taking after his father, than sewing, which was more Tucker's department.

"So how is Dash?" Celeste asked, turning to Danny. "We haven't really spoken a lot since Halloween, and I was just wondering," she hunched up her shoulders, "if you knew anything."

"Oh, I don't know. Dash talks more about his relationship stuff with Kwan than with me."

Celeste nodded with a forced smile, clearly hoping for a different answer.

"Miss," a waiter said when he dropped by their table with a bag in his hands, "your dinner."

"Thanks." Celeste accepted the bag, and the waiter left them. "Well, I guess I should go." She stood. "Thanks for keeping me company. I'm sorry about imposing on your date though."

"Oh no!" Hayley shook her head as she stood too. "We were happy to have you join us." She pulled Celeste in for a brief hug.

"It was nice getting to talk to you again." Celeste turned to Danny, holding out her hand.

Danny stood with a nod. "It was nice seeing you again." He shook her hand. With a wave, Celeste headed for the front entrance of the restaurant. Danny and Hayley resumed their seats.

"Sorry." Hayley winced. "I guess we got a little carried away."

Danny shook his head. "It's fine." Their waiter dropped off their order then came back a few seconds later to refill their water glasses. "That's really great about the audition. I feel a little like a copycat saying it after Hayley, but I'm really happy for you, going out there and trying to achieve your dream."

"Thanks." Hayley blushed lightly. "So anything special going on with you?" She took a bite of her fettuccine.

"My team had a swim meet today." Danny paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. "Did I mention that before? I teach English, but I also coach the swim team. We only got one third place, but we'll work hard to be ready for the next meet."

"You should have told me! I would have come." Hayley winced. "Oh, but I had my audition. Maybe next time you have a swim meet, I could come?"

"Yeah, that would be great." Danny smiled. "So tell me more about yourself. What were you like when you were little? I don't think we really talked about siblings." They still didn't know a lot about each other yet. As he ate, Danny listened in captivated silence as Hayley talked about growing up with her parents but no siblings. Danny shared some stories about Jazz and him growing up, earning a few laughs from Hayley. From there, the date went smoothly, and Danny relaxed more, actually feeling comfortable talking with her. Maybe things could work out with Hayley.


	26. Chapter 26

Dash put the movie into the DVD player then walked over to join his friends on the couch. He knew Kwan and Valerie probably took bets on when he would choose a romance drama for his movie pick. Smirking a little inwardly, Dash planned on not picking any romance dramas for the whole night, just to prove them both wrong. He sat beside Kwan on the couch then tugged the blanket to cover himself too. Tossing a quick glance to the apartment door, Dash wondered how the date would go. Then he shook his head. It wasn't any of his business, and they already spent more than enough time chatting about Fenton's love life. Tonight was for relaxing and not thinking about anything, especially things he would rather _not_ think about.

"So I heard something interesting when we were at the store," Kwan said, frowning as he stirred the yogurt in his hand with a spoon. His brow knitted thoughtfully as he considered whatever this "something interesting" was. Then he turned to Dash. "Your theory on those robberies might have been right after all."

Dash hit the pause button on the remote, despite the movie being only in the opening sequence. "You," he couldn't stop a smile from stretching across his face, "are admitting I was right?" How he wished he made a bet with Kwan on this!

Kwan stared grumpily then sighed. "Yes, you were right."

"Are you going to fill me in?" Valerie asked, giving Kwan a shove and knocking him into Dash before Kwan could correct himself.

"Dash was reading the news a while back about some robberies taking place around town," Kwan explained, leaning back against the couch. "He thought it was probably ghosts doing it. I rejected the idea because we really haven't seen much ghost activity since leaving Amity Park."

"What, um," Valerie shifted on her end of the couch, picking at the blanket, "changed your mind about it?"

"Phantom and the Red Huntress are in town according to the story I heard about a recent robbery."

"Together?" Valerie raised an eyebrow in an expression of complete bafflement. "But, I mean, they did work together sometimes, but I always thought they were more of solo acts. Why would they _both_ come here?"

"I'm with Valerie on that one." Dash frowned. The teenager in him wanted to run out into the night to track down Phantom and watch his hero in action. He could admit it. He was a complete fan boy of Phantom, even now. But this wasn't Amity Park where they could simply walk the street at any hour of the day and have a high chance of encountering a ghost. Dash saw no evidence of ghosts around this town in the years they lived here. "Isn't it a little weird to have both of them come all the way out here for some small time robberies? I'm happy for them coming to deal with any trouble making ghosts. But how would they even know to come here?"

"Maybe they were following a lead," Valerie suggested, reasonably. "Stopping the robbery could have just been," she shrugged, "them being in the right place at the right time."

"A little too conveniently." Kwan's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Why do you say that?" Valerie tilted her head with an inquisitive gleam in her green eyes.

"Why are ghosts popping up now? It's been quiet ever since Dash and I moved here to teach. Now suddenly there's a ghost problem?"

"You know," Dash said slowly, the gears turning in his head, "that article about mysterious robberies turned up after Fenton moved in with us."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kwan's face scrunched up in puzzlement.

"Maybe nothing." Dash shrugged. "I was just saying something I noticed. Fenton's family is crazy about ghosts."

"I don't know if we should bother him with this," Valerie said, wincing as she shifted and readjusted the blanket.

"Yeah," Kwan agreed, his mouth pursing slightly in thought. "It seemed like his parents' enthusiasm for ghosts was always a source of embarrassment for him. He might have thought moving away from Amity Park would be a good break away from his parents' little obsession."

Dash leaned on the armrest of the couch. "I guess you have a point there." Though their relationship improved, he realized there were still plenty of times when he didn't stop to consider Fenton's side of things. "But he's also the only person we know to ask about ghost stuff."

"Why?" Valerie asked then a devious little smirk curled on her face. "Do you need some help finding you high school crush?"

Dash snorted, though he could feel heat rising to his cheeks. "I didn't have a _crush_ on Phantom." He scowled at Valerie, who was clearly struggling not to laugh as she bit her lower lip. "I admired him. There's a difference."

"Right." Valerie nodded, not convinced for a second by his words.

"He stood up to ghosts. He protected us when we were all running scared. How can you not admire someone who selflessly puts himself in harm's way for others and never asks for anything in return?" Dash huffed as he folded his arms. Some nights, he wished Phantom protected him from more than just the latest ghost of the week.

"Okay. Okay." Kwan waved his hands up and down between Dash and Valerie. "I wasn't trying to turn this into some kind of fight."

"I was only teasing." Valerie popped an M&M into her mouth.

"All I was trying to get at, really, is that if Phantom and the Red Huntress are in town, we're the only people who know anything about dealing with ghost attacks," Kwan explained. "If people here start learning about ghosts being real, there could be some panic. If possible, I think we should see if Danny knows of any way we can set up some kind of protection around the high school to keep the students safe during school hours."

"That might not be too bad an idea," Dash agreed. He hated to think it would come down to that, but he also didn't want to take any chances. They experienced quite a few ghost attacks during their high school career. Since reading the news reports about the mysteries robberies, no attacks outside of robberies happened, but that didn't mean there would be no attacks on other locations in the future. Talking to Fenton was probably their best plan of action. Fenton would have some ideas for how to keep the high school safe.

"Enough talking about ghosts." Valerie tossed some popcorn at them. "This is supposed to be movie night, and we've barely even gotten the first movie started. We've got some watching to do before Danny comes back from his date." With her legs already resting over Kwan's lap, Valerie nudged at Dash with her foot.

"Okay." Dash rolled his eyes as he picked up the remote to hit play. He leaned back and got comfortable as they settled in to watch the first movie, which was some action movie Dash was sure they watched before though he couldn't quite recall it.

After the first movie finished, Dash got up to start the oven so they could have pizza during their second movie. It was Kwan's pick, and he sat by the television, sifting through their collection for what he wanted to watch next. The oven buzzed to announce their pizza was ready halfway through the sci-fi movie. They paused it to serve up slices of the pizza before they returned to the couch. Dash took a large bite from one his slices, after it cooled a little, enjoying the meaty, cheesy goodness of the pizza. When he glanced over, he caught Kwan mouthing the lines of the movie and bit back a chuckle. Kwan could probably perform the whole movie by himself.

Valerie chose a horror movie for her pick. She tossed back snacks, happily unfazed by any of the gruesome scenes playing out on the television. After growing up in Amity Park, Dash would like to say he grew a pretty thick skin when it came to scary things, but even he cringed at some of the grotesque elements within the movie. He practically jumped right out of his skin, and off the couch, when the apartment door creaked open near the end of the movie. Twisting toward the door, Dash, along with his friends, watched as Fenton tried to casually and quietly sneak into the apartment. Stealth, apparently, wasn't a skill at which Fenton excelled.

"You're back early," Valerie said, lifting her eyebrow, though she seemed pleased about it, perhaps because she was proven correct about Fenton not going back to his date's place for the night.

"Am I?" Fenton frowned as he checked the time on his watch. "I thought it was pretty late already."

"Sometimes, Danny," Valerie mumbled, shaking her head with a small smirk.

When Fenton blinked in response, Dash chuckled, unable to help himself. The man was too naive sometimes, not catching what Valerie was trying to imply. "You're just in time," he announced before Fenton could question him about laughing. "We each got a pick, so now you can have your turn."

"We even left you some snacks," Kwan added with a grin.

"Great!" Fenton shrugged out of his coat then hung it up on its hook. "I could use some relaxing after today."

"How did your date go?" Kwan scooped up a handful of popcorn to cram into his mouth.

"It was good." Fenton bobbed his head as he walked over to the television. "We went to dinner at this little Italian place." He knelt down to flip through the movies. "Then we went for a stroll in a park not too far away from it. We talked for a while, but it started getting late, so I walked her back to her car." He rolled a shoulder as he pulled a movie from the collection. "And now I'm here." He opened the DVD player then snorted. "I'm guessing this was Valerie's choice." He held up the horror movie DVD.

"How well you know me." Valerie drank a sip of her soda. "So Thanksgiving's coming up. Are you going to do anything special with her?"

A faint flush crept onto Fenton's face as he inserted his movie pick then closed the DVD player. "We didn't talk about any plans for Thanksgiving."

"Plans don't make themselves, Danny."

"I know that, Val." Fenton sighed as he put away the horror movie then walked over to the couch. "It just didn't come up while we were talking." Then his gaze snapped to Dash, who sat up straighter with a baffled creasing in his brow. "Celeste happened to be at the restaurant where we had dinner. She was wondering why you haven't called her since Halloween."

Dash shifted uncomfortably as all eyes turned on him. "We never agreed to be an exclusive couple. Or a couple at all!" He frowned at the glares he received. "Okay!" He threw his hands up in the air. "I'll talk to her about it." Celeste was a nice woman, but Dash, for some reason, simply didn't see their relationship going anywhere, even though logically they should make a good couple. With the thoughts recently springing up in his head, he didn't think throwing himself at a woman he knew for all of one night was a good idea, for either of them.

"Good." Valerie nodded as she folded her arms. "Because I would hate to think you're the type of guy who leaves a woman hanging after a first date. Even if it's bad news, it's better to be up front about it instead of leaving her to wonder if you're ever going to call or not."

"I think that's all she wants to know," Fenton said, "if you're interested in her or not."

"I get it!" Dash scowled at them. "But I'm not going to call her this late at night. I'll do it tomorrow." He gestured to the television with one hand. "So are we getting back to movie night?" He wasn't trying to avoid the situation or completely ignore Celeste and her feelings. He just- Maybe he was avoiding it a little, but he felt like his head needed some clearing before he dealt with it all.

"It's pretty unlike you to blow someone off after just the first meeting though," Kwan said quietly as he gave Dash a worried look. Dash merely shook his head in response and turned his gaze to focus on the television.

Fenton grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator before he returned to join them. Dash moved over to allow Fenton to squish onto the couch. He threw his arms over the back of the couch, but it was a little uncomfortable with Kwan pressed up to him on one side and Fenton on the other. Maybe they should invest in a bigger couch, or another piece of furniture so they weren't all forced together with no room between them.

Fenton chose some old sports movie. Dash hadn't watched it in years, forgetting how much he loved the whole underdog's struggle to victory in the end coupled with the strong bonds forged among the teammates. It was a great movie, despite its age, but Dash found his focus straying. With the whole conversation about Celeste, he pondered over what exactly he was looking for in someone. Something uncomplicated and comfortable would be a good start. With planning lessons and grading papers and tests then topping that with coaching football and going to games, his time felt pretty much spoken for throughout the school year. He didn't have a lot of time to think of ways to woo someone on elaborately romantic dates.

Dash was actually impressed with Fenton going on dates while having a load of work to deal with, even after school hours finished. When he got back home after work, he wanted to spend the rest of the night resting to prepare for the next day of school. How strange, he thought. In high school and college, he was quite the flirt, eager to spend in free time dating. Now dating wasn't even a blip on his radar. Tearing his gaze away from the television, he glanced at the other three. If date night could be as simple and relaxing as this, he would be a happy man.


	27. Chapter 27

Kwan scrunched up his nose when something tickled it. Groaning, he swatted a hand in front of his face before rolling over to bury his face into his pillow. He wasn't sure how late they stayed up watching movies, but at some point they all changed into comfortable pajamas before continuing to the next movie. A smile tugged at his mouth. It was a good night, even if he now felt like he could sleep for ten years. The tickling moved from his nose to his ear. Kwan jerked upright, annoyance at the tickling making it impossible to remain sleeping. When he saw what was causing the tickling, he glared at the sheepish grin Valerie gave him as she quickly tried to hide the feather behind her back.

"Did you really have to wake me up?" Kwan rubbed at his face, not sure he wanted to know how late he slept in that morning.

"Did I interrupt a good dream?" Valerie asked in a teasing manner as she flicked the feather at his nose.

"If you're thinking it had anything to do with Dash or Danny, you're wrong." Kwan forced himself to get out of bed, even if he wished to remain laying there all day. As for his dreams, his roommates may have made an appearance here and there, though he wouldn't admit it to Valerie since she would merely tease him about it. He walked over to his closet while Valerie pulled her legs up and sat cross-legged on the bed.

"This is quite the turn of events though."

Kwan glanced back over his shoulder as he decided on what to wear for the day. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Valerie rolled her eyes and gave him a look to say "come on. Don't be dense." She leaned back on her arms with a sly smirk on her face. "Dash had that date on Halloween. But he hasn't bothered calling her back? Like he's been avoiding her?"

"Yeah, and?" Kwan played it off as oblivious, but Dash's response last night gave him some concern. He couldn't recall a time when his friend avoided a woman, especially one with whom he seemed to get along well. Why was Dash blowing Celeste off? It seemed out of character for Dash.

"Kwan, he could have been on a date last night. Instead he decided to spend it with you watching movies."

"That doesn't mean anything." Kwan tossed a shirt at her, and Valerie swatted it away before it could whack her in the face. "We're friends. We have movie nights sometimes. That doesn't mean he has any kind of romantic feelings for me. Besides he knew you were going to be there. That doesn't exactly scream of romantic movie date night to me."

"I'm just saying it could be a possibility." Valerie shrugged as she stood.

Kwan rolled his eyes, practically rolling his head with the action. "I thought you wanted me to get over my crush on him."

"That was an opinion," Valerie pointed out as she raised a finger. "And with new information, an opinion is allowed to change."

Kwan pulled on a clean shirt. "Does that mean you've given up on Danny?" He pulled out a pair of slacks and changed into them.

"Hm," Valerie hummed thoughtfully. "Nope. I still think he's a good match for you. But," she shrugged, "can't do anything there while he's still dating someone. I know you don't want to be the reason for him to break it off with her, and I," she pressed a hand to her chest, "certainly won't plot to break them up."

"Because you're leaving tonight?" Kwan teased with a light smirk as he walked over to the door of his room where she stood.

"No." Valerie snorted. "I'm not going to be that person. If Danny's meant to be with her, then I'm not going to stand in their way. That's his decision. But yes, I would be very happy if the two of you ended up together."

Kwan drew her into an one armed hug. "I'm glad we're on the same page. If he's happy with whomever he's dating, that's all that matters."

Valerie rolled her eyes as she shoved him out of the bedroom. It was barely passed eleven, and with his stomach growling, Kwan headed for the kitchen to fix up a brunch of sorts. Valerie helped him put together a fake egg McMuffin with some orange slices on the side. They sat down together while Kwan ate. The room was a bit of a mess after their movie night, since they didn't bother to clean up before they went to bed. Kwan was surprised they all made it to their rooms with how tired they were by that point.

"Where are the others?" Kwan asked halfway through his brunch.

"Well, the three of us managed to wake up to have a proper breakfast," Valerie teased lightly, stealing one of the orange slices. She grinned when Kwan shot her a glare. "Anyway, Danny mentioned needing to finish up grading a few things, and he wanted to get them done early. Dash made that call to Celeste, so right about now, he's probably meeting with her."

Kwan practically choked on his brunch. "What?" he asked when he could speak. It came out like a gasp, and his eyes bugged out of their sockets.

"You didn't think he would do it?" Valerie blinked. "I'm pretty sure it's not going to be good news for her."

"No, I did." Kwan sighed as he leaned back. "I guess I just didn't think he would go out and talk to her right this second after calling her. I don't even know why hearing that freaked me out. It's what we talked about last night, after all."

"Maybe because Dash will be available after he talks with her."

Kwan shook his head. "It not like he's never been single before."

"But this time feels different, doesn't it?" Valerie nudged him in the ribs.

"We need a new topic." Kwan took another bite of his brunch. Recently, it felt like they did nothing but talk about someone's love life or crushes. When he finished eating, he took his plate over to the sink and washed it. "Are you all packed for your flight?"

"I have a few more things I need to pack up, but it won't take me too long." Valerie stood, stretching her arms over her head. "So we need to think of something to do before my flight. What fun thing can we do?"

Kwan glanced around the room. "I guess cleaning wouldn't fall under the fun category."

Valerie winced. "No, but I suppose I should help out. I did help to make the mess after all."

They spent the early afternoon picking up the trash leftover from their night of movie watching. Plates and cups needed washing, some having pizza cheese practically glued to them. Cleaning was never a fun chore, but Kwan was thankful Valerie helped him to get it all done, even if it wasn't the most fun activity they could do for her last day here.

"Wow. You got this place cleaned up quick."

Kwan turned his head to see Danny stepping out of his room. "Well, I didn't think we should leave the mess sitting too long."

"Uh, sorry." Danny rubbed the back of his neck, lowering his gaze. "I probably should have helped. But I had-"

"It's okay. You had stuff to grade." Kwan shrugged.

"What's with the outfit?" Valerie asked, dumping some garbage into the trash can. "Going out jogging or something?"

"I was thinking about it. Kind of," Danny tugged at an ear, "felt gross after eating so much junk food last night. So I thought going for a jog would make me feel better."

Valerie grinned as she side stepped closer to him. "Yeah, wouldn't want you to get all pudgy." She poked at his side, and Danny swatted at her hand. "Why don't we go too?" She turned her gaze to Kwan. "Some exercise would be good."

"Yeah, sure. If you're okay with that, we can go get some jogging clothes on," Kwan said when he finished wiping down the kitchen counters.

"Sure." Danny bobbed his head. "I'll even treat you to a smoothie. There's a really good place just a few blocks away. I usually like to stop by there after I finish a jog."

"Can't pass that up then!" Valerie headed for Kwan's bedroom to change into something more suitable for jogging.

"No Dash?" Danny glanced around the apartment.

"Uh, yeah. He went to talk with Celeste." Kwan frowned, still uncertain about what Valerie kept pushing as a good thing. Dash wasn't interested in Celeste, which was baffling, but it didn't mean Dash had someone else in mind, specifically Kwan.

"You okay?" Danny frowned as he placed a hand on Kwan's shoulder.

"Huh?" Kwan jerked out of his thoughts. "Oh, sorry. I'm fine." He smiled, but Danny's concerned look remained. "Really. I'm fine. I should go get changed." He left before Danny could prod at him some more. When he reached his room, he found Valerie already finished changing into her jogging outfit. She patted his shoulder on the way out of the room. As he changed, Kwan thought the jog would do him some good. He always liked letting all the troubling thoughts disappear from his mind as he focused on the simple act of just running.

When all of them were ready, they left the apartment. Danny took the lead, deciding on the route they would take, which of course would take them right to the smoothie shop at the end of their jog. The day was cool and crisp with an air that bit at his exposed skin. The sky was gray above them, but it didn't look like it would snow yet. The three of them kept pace with each other as they ran along the path through a park near their apartment. Maybe he and Danny could do this more often. He and Dash went to the gym together often, but he thought it would be nice if he had something he could do with Danny too.

They ran for a good half hour when Valerie stopped. Kwan and Danny drew up short, turning back to her. She pulled out her phone from where she kept it tucked safely away in a pocket. As she read whatever message came in, she shook her head, clearly not happy with whatever was on the screen.

"Sorry. I've got to take this," Valerie said as she glanced up at them. "It's about work, and I need to phone in to sort some things out." She tapped at the screen. "You can keep going. I'll catch up with you at the smoothie place." She pointed at Danny as she held the phone up to her ear. "I'm not letting you off. You're buying me a smoothie."

Danny chuckled. "Of course. When have I ever not come through on a promise?" Valerie dismissed him with a wave of her hand. Danny turned to Kwan and slapped him lightly on the arm. "Race you to the smoothie place?" He grinned. "It's just a five minute run from here."

"Oh, prepare to eat my dust!" Kwan grinned, up for a little friendly competition.

"Your shoe's untied." Danny shot off down the path while Kwan bowed his head to check his shoe laces.

"Hey!" Kwan ran after him. "That's cheating!"

Danny laughed as he dodged past a couple of teenagers walking the path. "Not my fault you fell for the oldest trick in the book!"

Kwan couldn't argue with that logic. It was an old trick, and he should have known better than to check his laces after a race was decided. The gap between them narrowed as they left the park and jogged down the street toward the smoothie shop. Danny tossed a glance back over his shoulder with an impish smirk on his face. Kwan nearly stumbled, his ankle trying to roll under him before he caught his balance. He hid a wince at the twinge whenever he put weight on that foot. He would put some ice on it later. Thankfully, Danny missed the little mishap, though that didn't stop a flush of embarrassment from heating Kwan's face briefly.

The sign for the smoothie shop was in sight just a few buildings away. The oval sign was a soft red-orange ringed in white with the words Fruit Crushed written in delicate white lettering. Kwan must have passed the place a dozen times, but somehow he never noticed it until now. Danny was only a few steps ahead of him. Then he pitched forward suddenly. Kwan rushed the distance between them, just managing to catch Danny before he planted his face right into the sidewalk. People stared at them as they passed. One man shot them a vicious scowl.

"Danny!" Kneeling as he held Danny, Kwan rolled him face up in his arms.

Danny stared to the sky with a blank, lifeless look in his eyes. For a terrifying moment, he didn't move at all. Then Danny gasped out, falling out of Kwan's arms with a thump on the sidewalk. Kwan didn't mean to drop him. Did he let go? It was more like Danny simply slipped through his hands.

"Ow," Danny groaned, sitting up as he rubbed at his lower back.

"Are you okay?" Kwan resisted his mother hen tendencies, which screamed at him to check for any injuries. "What was that? You just passed out!"

"What?" Panic flickered swiftly through his blue eyes. "No," Danny snorted, "I didn't. I just stumbled. I guess I got a little dizzy or something." He tried to dismiss the whole thing with a wave of his hand. "Nothing a smoothie can't fix though." He grinned, a little too forcibly. It looked phony.

"Danny," Kwan leveled a stern glare on him, "what happened? That was more than being dizzy."

"It's fine." Danny stood then turned to head for the smoothie shop.

Kwan launched to his feet and caught Danny's hand. "No, it's not fine. You had me worried. _Really_ worried. Does this happen often?"

"Never," Danny snapped immediately, frustration seeping into his voice. His head jerked back. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed. "Sorry. I guess I'm just a little tired. Maybe after some rest, I'll feel better."

Kwan's brow creased as he glanced over Danny. "Are you sure? Maybe we should at least get you checked out to be sure."

"I appreciate the concern, but really," Danny smiled, placing a hand on Kwan's shoulder, "I'm fine. So how about that smoothie?"

"I'm not done being worried," Kwan warned as he followed Danny into the smoothie shop. What was the truth behind the little fainting spell just now? Why was Danny passing it off as nothing? Kwan didn't like Danny being secretive, but he knew he couldn't force his roommate to give him answers. Danny seemed like he was as stubborn as Dash.

"I guess I can't really tell you not to worry." Danny winced, dropping his gaze in, perhaps, a little shame. "Why don't you grab us a table? And I'll order for us. Just tell me what you want."

"You already know what to get Val?"

"Of course!" Danny chuckled. "Strawberry blueberry banana is her favorite."

Kwan shook his head with a small upward curl of his mouth. "Sometimes I forget that you dated her too. You can get me a carrot orange fusion."

"Good choice." Danny bobbed his head. "I always like to get pomegranate paradise."

"Maybe I'll give that a try sometime."

"I'll let you have a taste of mine."

Kwan nodded lamely at the bright smile Danny flashed him. "Right. Um, I'll go get that table." He left Danny in line to order their smoothies as he sought out a table for the three of them. The conversation might have distracted him, but Kwan wasn't done worrying about the little faint Danny had earlier.


	28. Chapter 28

Danny rubbed at his forehead as he walked down the hall. Since Sunday night, he couldn't shake this nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach. Before Valerie left for the airport with Kwan, she pulled him into his bedroom and warned Danny that Dash and Kwan knew about Phantom being in town. She recounted the whole conversation to him, and though she seemed to keep her friends from realizing the truth, Danny couldn't help feeling like at any moment one of his roommates would confront him about his secret identity.

Being under the microscope of Kwan's watchful eye didn't help things. Danny knew he gave his roommates plenty of reasons to worry about him. They knew about his scars, and Danny could only guess what they imagined happened to him to get them. Now Kwan witnessed him have a little "dizzy spell," which Danny couldn't explain to him wasn't that at all. Danny talked to Valerie about it during their little private meeting.

Everything was going well with his race against Kwan to the smoothie shop. He was in the lead, though he didn't care much about winning. Then he felt a strange tug, like something was trying to rip his ghost half right out of him. He separated from his ghost half before, thanks to one of his parents' inventions, but this time, it was entirely different. It almost felt like a violation. They both agreed what he experienced might be what the other ghosts described, which only increased the sick feeling in Danny's stomach. Hearing about these strange occurrences from other ghosts was disturbing enough without having to experience it himself.

The whole incident happened much too quickly for Danny to fully grasp what was happening after the tug. He couldn't give any details beyond everything going black. Perhaps it was his status as half ghost that kept him from being used in the same manner as the ghosts he encountered during the robberies. He was tempted to ask some of his allies to keep watch on him, in case he suffered another "blackout." What if the next time he was taken over completely like the others and made to rob places?

Valerie offered to stay a little longer to help with the ghost problem. But Danny couldn't allow her to do that. She had her job to get back to, along with training for a tournament. Her help would be appreciated, but her civilian life was much more important. Valerie promised to research what she could about what they knew and pass it onto him. Danny was forever thankful to have Valerie on his side, especially when he came up against a difficult ghosts or couldn't puzzle out what was happening on his own. Sam and Tucker were good at the puzzle solving too. They fought when it was necessary, but Danny always preferred when it wasn't necessary. He knew his friends could handle themselves in a fight, but it didn't make him worry any less about their safety.

"Fenton." Dash grabbed his arm, suddenly tugging Danny into a classroom. The action sent Danny nearly stumbling right into him. Dash caught him by the arms to help steady him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you."

Danny shook his head. "I wasn't paying attention. What did you need?"

Dash jerked his hands away from Danny like he was burned. He turned his gaze away as he rubbed at the back of his neck, everything about his posture screaming of awkwardness. Danny bit his lower lip as a snicker tried to make its escape. It wasn't often he got to see a nervous Dash rather than the jock brimming with confidence.

On Sunday, Dash returned home after they did from their jog. Naturally, he wasn't in the best of moods after his meet up with Celeste. He didn't tell them every single detail about what was said, but it sounded like they at least ended things amicably. Even though he was the one who decided to call it off, Dash still seemed bummed about the whole thing. Several times, Danny found himself nearly asking Dash if he wanted to talk about it. He chickened out every time, thinking Dash would probably seek out Kwan if he felt the need to discuss it with someone.

"Right. So, you weren't there when we talked about it." Dash gave him a quick once over.

Danny felt a flicker of frustration run through him. Kwan obviously spoke to Dash about the whole "fainting spell," putting Danny under both of their watchful eyes. Danny already felt on edge about it, fearing it would happen again and he wouldn't come back from it next time. If it happened again while either of his roommates were watching, Danny knew his secret identity would be discovered.

"But it seems that Phantom and the Red Huntress have made their way up here." Dash's shoulders hunched, and Danny's frustration quickly shifted to nervous energy. Even though he knew it would come up eventually, Danny still worried he would accidentally let something slip. "And, well," Dash continued, running a hand through his hair, "I have seen any ghost activity with my own eyes. But if ghosts are acting up around town, who knows how long it will be before they're attacking like in Amity Park? Okay." He held up a hand. "That's probably an exaggeration. Kwan's pretty sure there's some sort of nexus, that's the word he used, in Amity Park that attracts the ghosts."

"Right," Danny mumbled, his stomach twisting uncomfortably. If by nexus he meant the Ghost Portal, then Kwan wasn't too far off from the truth. Danny wanted to get away from the topic of ghosts quickly, before either Dash or Kwan put all the pieces together to figure out the truth.

"Uh, anyway, when we talked about it, we thought maybe you would have some ideas for keeping the school protected. It was pretty crazy when we went to Casper High. I think we'd all like to spare our students from having to experience what we went through."

"Oh." Danny's mouth pursed to the side as he considered things. "The problem is, no one believes ghosts are real here. We can't go to the school board and discuss putting up any ghost protection around the school. They'd laugh us right out of the office."

"And probably want us to get a psych eval or something." Dash cringed, now seeing the flaw in his plan.

"I wouldn't say the idea is a total loss." Danny smirked with mischievousness flashing in his eyes. "We could still figure out something we could use to protect the school, and then just not tell anyone about it. But we'd have to be careful of where we place it because we wouldn't want just anyone stumbling onto it."

Dash nodded, and sly smile slowly slipped onto his face. "You're pretty devious. Why didn't I ever know about this side of you?"

"Because we weren't friends?" Danny shrugged unsurprised.

"Right." Dash shifted his weight, dropping his gaze briefly. "You should talk with Kwan about it though. He's probably good with that kind of stuff. Now, if you want to build automatons," he pointed a thumb at his chest, "I'm your guy."

Danny laughed. "I remember. You destroyed me in that haunted house punishment. I," he tugged at his ear, "was kind of jealous. I thought I had that in the bag. I mean, who would think the kid of the parents obsessed with ghosts would have such difficulty figuring out a halfway decent Halloween setup?"

"Yours wasn't-" Dash shook his head. "No, sorry. It was pretty bad." He laughed.

Danny's face heated, and he slapped his hand against Dash's shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. It's hilarious." He rolled his eyes as he stepped out of the classroom.

"It sort of is." Dash caught up to him, dropping a hand onto Danny's shoulder. "But hey, you got a lot better at the whole spooky decoration thing after that."

Dash smirked, and Danny rolled his eyes as his mouth twitched, trying to smile in return. How could he not feel a little happy whenever Dash said anything good about him? It was like he reverted back to being fourteen seeking approval of the popular kids. He thought he broke free of that mentality years ago, but it seemed to sneak back into his mind every so often, especially when he hung around Dash and Kwan.

"No date with Hayley tonight?" Dash asked as they walked down the hall.

Danny shook his head. "She said she had a rehearsal tonight. But she said she'd love to have Thanksgiving with us. I hope you're good at potatoes. Because last time I tried to make them, I really messed things up. I can, however, make a great pumpkin pie."

Dash snorted, attempting to hold back a laugh. "You sure like pumpkin, huh?"

"As long as it doesn't have a sword through it."

"Huh?" Dash's brow knitted, and confusion passed through his eyes.

"Ah!" Sweat prickled at the back of Danny's neck. "It's a joke. Something my dad used to say all the time." He shrugged, like it was some kooky tradition his parents invented. Dash nodded slowly, but Danny suspected his lie wasn't believed. "Oh, hey." Danny reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Jazz got a cat over the weekend." He brought up the picture his sister sent him the other day. Hopefully, it would provide enough of a distraction to keep Dash from thinking too hard on the little slip up. "She named her Florence. I'm guessing that's a psychology reference, but I don't know all the big psychologist names. Other than, like, Freud."

Dash took the phone to better see the picture. "An orange tabby. It really suits her."

"Wow," Danny mumbled as he accepted his phone back. "I actually kind of expected a little more of a reaction."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Danny shrugged. "I guess because you seemed like you really liked Jazz back in high school."

"That was back in our freshmen year. But when I really think back to it, all I really knew her as was the pretty, smart girl who was the sister of the guy I would pick on. Not exactly the greatest basis for a relationship. And," Dash's shoulders hunched up, "back then I was a jerk. I never listened to anything she had to say about herself when I was drooling over her." He paused, an eyebrow inching upward as he turned to Danny. "Why are asking about this anyway?"

"No reason." Danny pocketed his phone, impressed by Dash's response. "But you know, it does seem odd that you pushed Celeste away. Are you okay?"

Dash groaned, reaching up to rub at his eyes. "I thought we were done talking about this." With a sigh, he dropped his arm. "Look. I'm trying to figure it out. I don't know what I want, and I'm just- I don't know! Confused? I guess."

Danny blinked in surprise, mostly because this seemed like a conversation Dash would usually have with Kwan. "Hey," he patted Dash on the shoulder as he smiled, "if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here."

"Later. Maybe." Dash's mouth pursed like he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to discuss it at all.

"You do it."

"I'm not going to do it. You do it!"

Danny and Dash turned their heads to a pair of students standing across the hall by the lockers. One of the students nudged her friend forward. But when she noticed the two teachers watching her, the second student stumbled back into her friend. Then she turned and urged her friend down the hall.

"I'm not crazy for thinking there's something weird going on with our students, am I?" Danny's brow creased with concern. It seemed like recently he came across too many groups of students acting strangely whenever he was around, and it worried him, a lot, that perhaps the students didn't think the best of him as a teacher.

Dash scratched a hand through his hair, his mouth pursing as he watched the two students. "The other day, I came across a group of students, and I think they might have been betting on something. But they all shut down and refused to admit to anything when I questioned them." He fold his arms, clearly concerned and frustrated with that situation. "I gave them all detention and warned them betting on school grounds was unacceptable behavior. They should be thankful I didn't drag them to the principal's office because they could have been suspended."

"Think we should start keeping a closer watch on the students?" Danny didn't want to be an overbearing teacher, but he also didn't want to ignore possible bad behavior by his students.

"It might be wise," Dash agreed slowly, like he was deliberating the right course of action they should take. "I swear I've caught some of them taking pictures, but before I get a good look, the phone's disappeared."

"Damn it!" The shout was followed by a bang of a fist slamming into the metal of the lockers.

Danny almost sighed. A teacher's job was never over, or at least, it felt that way sometimes. He turned and walked down the hall with Dash following after him. As they approached the student, Danny recognized him as Jeremy from the baseball team. He didn't get to see Jeremy in action, but he heard good things about the jock being an amazing batter.

"What seems to be the trouble?" Danny asked calmly.

"Nothing!" Jeremy snapped until he looked up to see the two teachers. He gulped, the color draining somewhat from his face. "Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to yell."

"We're not going to punish you," Dash assured him, "unless you plan on beating up anymore of school property."

"Sorry." Jeremy winced. "The darn thing wouldn't open, and I guess I just got a little frustrated."

Danny eyed the locker. From his own experience, there was usually something else causing the frustration rather than the annoying locker refusing to open. "Is it anything you'd like to talk about? Anything you tell us won't go beyond us."

"Trust me, kid." Dash folded his arms, looking maybe a little intimidating rather than comforting. "It'll feel better to talk it out than to keep it bottled up until you feel like you're going to burst."

Danny frowned as he turned to Dash. An eyebrow lifted. "Should I be asking you about that comment?"

"Let's focus on the current problem." Dash gestured at Jeremy with one hand.

Danny's mouth pursed, and he filed the comment away for later. "Jeremy," he turned back to the student, "whenever you feel like talking, you can come to us."

"That's what Coach always says." Jeremy sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I'm just- There's a lot going on in my life with school and practices and my sister in the hospital and working to help pay for bills. It's just a lot. You know? I'm just feeling stressed."

"It's great that you're thinking about helping your family out with bills. But you do know that's not entirely your responsibility, right?" Dash's expression softened to something more understanding.

"Yeah, I know. And my parents wouldn't want me sacrificing my education. But I just can't sit back and do nothing. I want to help." Jeremy puffed up his chest but deflated a second later. "I never realized just how hard that would be though." He glanced uncertainly at Danny. "Um, not really trying to shift the conversation off me or anything. But did something happen to you recently?"

"What?" Danny blinked, surprised and perhaps a little concerned by the question. "Why would you ask that?"

"I don't- I can't really explain it." Jeremy dropped his gaze. "It's almost kind of like you have this darkness hovering over you. Like," he shrugged, struggling for words, "I don't know. I've never really thought that spirits were real or anything. But you aren't being haunted or something, right?"

Ice ran down Danny's back. Did Jeremy actually know something about what happened over the weekend? His throat felt too dry, swallowing almost hurt as his throat constricted. This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have in front of Dash. He didn't need Dash putting any pieces together about his secret identity. From Valerie, it sounded like Dash may already have a thought in his head to connect Danny and Phantom.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Dash questioned, frowning with a deep furrow in his brow. Then he grabbed Danny's arm, jerking him around so they faced each other. "Is that what your so-called dizzy spell was about?"

"I think we're getting a little distracted here." Danny swallowed nervously under Dash's keen gaze. "Nothing happened to me other than being a little dizzy." Why did that have to happen in front of Kwan? If it was Valerie, she would have kept silent about the whole thing.

"Well, this really isn't any of my business." Jeremy backed up a few steps. "See you tomorrow!" He turned and bolted down the hall before either teacher could stop him.

_There goes my distraction_ , Danny thought in disappointment, dropping the arm he raised to stop Jeremy. He glanced to Dash. "It seriously wasn't that big a deal. Kwan's just being a mother hen about the whole thing."

"You passed out." Dash stared sternly. He definitely wasn't about to drop the topic. "And now it might possibly have some connection to ghosts? We grew up in Amity Park. Ghosts aren't something we just brush off."

"And what do you want me to say?" Danny spread out his arms. "I'm perfectly fine now. Whatever happened, it's over and done and in the past. Can we leave it there and move on?"

"You say that, but he," Dash nodded down the hall in the direction Jeremy ran, "seems to think you have something lingering with you."

"Is that really going to change anything?" Danny arched an eyebrow as he folded his arms. "You were planning to keep a close watch on me already."

"We're just worried about you," Dash admitted in a gruff, grumpy tone as he turned his head aside. "And it feels like you're keeping secrets when you brush stuff off like it's nothing."

Danny sighed. He hated this because he felt guilty about keeping secrets from them, but this wasn't a secret he told just anyone. Could he trust them? Yes, he thought he could, but he was still hesitant to tell them the truth. Was there any way he could talk himself out of this one? "It's definitely not something we can discuss here." Danny's eyes darted around the hall where some students still lingered after hours. "Can we put a pin in this until some other time?" He had questions of his own for Dash, who huffed but agreed to continue the discussion later.


	29. Chapter 29

Dash slammed the door shut when they returned to the apartment. Kwan winced at the loud noise, and Dash felt a little bad since he wasn't mad at his friend. The ride home was tense and silent, and he knew Kwan was worrying the whole time about his roommates. Dash hated to put his friend in that situation, but he still needed to get answers out of Fenton.

"It's just us now," Dash said, turning on Fenton as he folded his arms. "So start explaining."

Fenton rubbed at his forehead as he sighed. His body language betrayed his exhaustion. When he actually paid attention, Dash noticed Fenton had dark circles under his eyes.

"We all know about ghosts. So what are you expecting me to tell you?"

"What exactly happened?" Kwan questioned, frowning as he glanced between his roommates.

"It seems that little incident over the weekend may have had ghost involvement." Dash's gaze hardened as he watched Fenton shift slightly, perhaps nervously. "And you're right. We _do_ know about ghosts. Which means we're also aware of how dangerous they can be. If a ghost possessed you," he turned aside, raking a hand through his hair, "I don't even know what we could do to help you! I don't even know what kind of effect that would have you."

"Plenty of people in Amity Park were possessed by ghosts." Fenton folded his arms. "You don't even remember when you were possessed."

"What?" Dash shouted, his eyes flying wide open. "What do you mean when I was possessed?"

"Wait. Was I ever possessed?" Kwan pointed at himself, panic in his eyes.

Fenton stiffened, his face paling several shades. He must have let that little information slip out without thinking. "Uh, it was, um," he rubbed the back his neck, unable to look at them, "back during freshmen year. A bunch of ghosts took over people's bodies, both of you included, while they tried to capture Phantom."

"Why do you know so much about this? You didn't get possessed too?" Kwan eyed Fenton with a hint of suspicion.

"My parents are ghost hunters. Our house was protected by a shield that prevented ghosts from entering." Fenton rolled his eyes like that answer should be obvious.

"Wait. So we could set up a ghost shield over the school to protect students from ghost attacks?" Kwan held up his hand. "And your parents never set it up at Casper High for what reason? We could have been saved a lot of trauma if the school was protected."

"It's not that simple." Fenton winced. "It's a complicated device, and getting it to expand over such a large area was difficult. We used one to protect the school once, but that shield got busted so we couldn't use it again to keep Casper High safe. The only other one we had was in the Opt Center. That wouldn't be very useful since it was built into the controls. As for setting up something like that here, I think it's possible, but to make it work, we'd also have to make it invisible. That way, no one will have any questions about a large green shield covering the school."

Kwan nodded, holding a hand to his chin in thought. "I see your point. Since no one here knows that ghosts are real, it's best not to alert them with something obvious like a visible ghost shield."

"Okay. That's great. The two of you can geek out over that later." Dash pointed at Fenton. "You still have some answering to do. With all these ghost robberies, why were you targeted? Why did a ghost try to possess you? Why didn't it succeed in possessing you?"

"I don't know the answers to those." Fenton frowned as his brow furrowed in uncertainty, but Dash didn't buy into Fenton's obliviousness.

"Tell us something!" Dash threw his arms up into the air. "You have to know _something_. And you're keeping it from us. We're your roommates. Or do you not consider us close enough to share in this information? Did you ever stop to think that this might affect us too? We're going to worry about you if you get possessed by a ghost. What if some ghost comes barging in here right now to attack? Leaving us in the dark doesn't help us!" Dash glared furiously, not caring that Fenton flinched at the anger in his words.

"Shit!" Kwan muttered with a hand to his forehead. His eyes were wide like he just came to a huge realization. "Is that why you have all those scars? From fighting ghosts?"

Dash stared at Fenton. He couldn't help it. Kwan's question ripped open the curtains to reveal the light after wandering in the dark. Fenton fighting ghosts was the most logical explanation behind his scars. "Why wouldn't you just tell us about that then? You have no reason to think we'll laugh at you for that. We know ghosts exist."

Fenton rubbed at his face. "This isn't how I wanted things to go." He laughed, maybe. Dash wasn't entirely sure what that noise was. "I guess I can't really deny it. Yeah, all my scars are from fighting ghosts. I didn't say anything because you were already worried. And I thought if you knew it was because of ghosts, that would just make you worry even more. I know nothing I say is actually going to make you stop worrying, but I've been doing this for years."

"You're right. You aren't going to make us stop worrying," Kwan agreed, his mouth pursing tightly. "Because we care if you get hurt. And what are we supposed to do if you get possessed? Do injuries from ghosts need some kind of special treatment?"

"It wasn't possession." Fenton tried to hold their gazes, but his eyes drifted to the side. "Not exactly anyway."

"You're clearly still holding something back." Dash refused to let Fenton off easy.

"I'm holding stuff back?" Fenton shot a glare at him. "What about you? What's all this 'confusion' about? You broke things off with a great woman."

"You think I don't know she's great?" Dash snapped back, fists clenching at his sides. "Celeste should be someone I can see a future with, but I don't. There's just... nothing when I think about where a relationship with her would go. And if I knew why I was feeling this way, then I wouldn't be so confused right now. I wish I had the answers because I hate not understanding my own feelings. But don't think for a second you've distracted me from your secrets." His eyes narrowed, like he was trying to dare Fenton to lie to them again.

"Maybe we should calm down a little," Kwan suggested, and his pleading expression left Dash feeling a little guilty. All Kwan wanted was for them to get along and be friends, and now Dash was mucking everything up by prying too much into Fenton's personal business. Kwan glanced to Fenton, hoping to appeal to him too. "Let's just take a moment before we say something that we might regret later."

"I know there's still something you're keeping from us." Dash huffed, looking away. "I'll drop it for now, but there is one thing I'd like to know. You fought ghosts. Can we expect to have any ghosts just popping into our apartment looking to fight you?"

"No, I think you're safe there. But if you're really concerned about it, we can see about putting up a shield around the apartment to keep ghosts out." Fenton sighed and rubbed at his forehead, looking even more exhausted. He walked over to the couch and collapsed onto it. "I haven't said anything about my secret," he flicked his gaze to Dash, "because it's not something I just go around telling to everyone." He leaned forward and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Kwan sat down next to him, placing a comforting hand on Fenton's shoulder. "You don't have to tell us anything if you're not ready. We don't want to force you."

Dash did. He wanted answers, but it made him feel like a jerk when he stopped to think about Fenton's feelings. This was obviously something Fenton was struggling with, not knowing if his secret was something he could trust them with. Dash wasn't exactly being honest himself. When he met with Celeste, he told her he didn't know what he was looking for in a relationship and didn't think it fair to start anything with her in that kind of a situation. Celeste seemed to understand what he was trying to say, though she was obviously disappointed. In truth, he was confused about himself after waking up from that dream. He refused to let his father's opinions influence him, but it was still a huge shock to him to have any attraction to someone of the same sex. Was it just a momentary attraction? Or was he just now realizing he was possibly bisexual? He still wasn't sure of the answer but also couldn't find the courage in himself to talk it out even with his best friend.

"It's not- You're not forcing me." Fenton sighed, his shoulders slumping and his body relaxing. "It's just my first instinct with this is to lie and keep it secret. I've kept this information to such a small, tight group that it's hard to think about expanding beyond them and including anyone new into this circle. But," he folded his arms over his knees, still leaning forward, "you're my roommates. This secret life obviously has some effect on you, and I don't want it to be a source of division when we're all becoming friends." He looked first to Kwan then lifted his head to stare at Dash. "You want to know why I might be a target of a ghost attack? It's because I am Phantom."

Each word seemed to punch Dash in the gut. His mouth dropped open as he tried to wrap his mind around what Fenton just said. Of all the things he could have imagined coming out of Fenton's mouth, Dash never expected that. "What- But- _What?_ How is that even possible?" Staring at Fenton, Dash just couldn't see them as the same person.

"Wait." Kwan shook his head, but his hand remained on Fenton's shoulder. "But if you're Phantom, then wouldn't that mean you're-" He winced like he didn't want to think of the rest of his question.

"Half ghost," Fenton explained. "And I know that sounds crazy. How can someone be half ghost? It doesn't make any sense. Well, welcome to the world of someone with ghost hunters for parents. One mishap with an invention, and bam! I've got the ability to turn into a ghost."

"That's- I don't know even know what to think of that." Kwan's eyes were wide, and he probably had a thousand questions about all the little technical details running through his mind.

"Shit!" Dash slapped his hands to his face then rubbed at his eyes as an important detail stabbed at his brain and left him feeling sick to his stomach. "Your parents _hunted_ you!" He dropped his hands away and stared at Fenton with wide eyes. His home life was no picnic living with his father and his narrow minded way of thinking. He always felt a little jealous about Fenton's family. Despite the oddity of ghost obsessed parents, the Fentons always seemed to love and support each other, and it was something Dash wish he had in his own family. His mother loved him, but it was often overshadowed by his father's treatment of him. With this new information, Dash now had a rather different view on Fenton's life. "How do you live with that?"

Fenton looked away, rubbing at his neck while Kwan sat next to him, too shocked to speak. "They don't know I'm Phantom. I never worked up the courage to say anything to them. I started out like them. I thought ghosts were evil, and that's why I started fighting them. But I eventually learned that they weren't all evil. They could be talked to and reasoned with. It took some time, but my parents slowly came around to realizing that too." He gulped, perhaps because Dash remained glaring at him. Hunching his shoulders, he appeared small. "I still have nightmares about it sometimes though," he admitted in a quiet voice.

Fenton grunted when Kwan dragged him into one of his warm, strong bear hugs. His blue eyes went almost comically wide, but Dash couldn't see much funny about the situation.

"I don't even know what to say," Kwan mumbled, frowning in frustration at not knowing how best to comfort Fenton. "We didn't exactly help make life easier for you. But I'm not sure saying things like 'but they still love you' or anything along that same line will make all that trauma wash away. If- If you need to just yell at someone and get out whatever you're feeling from that, we'll be here to listen." He shot a glare at Dash, like he expected his friend to argue. Dash merely raised his hands.

Fenton's eyes were lowered, but a smile tugged at his face. "Thanks." He patted Kwan's arms still wrapped around his chest. Slumping slightly back against Kwan, Fenton released a small laugh. "I actually feel a lot better. Wow." He shook his head. "I never realized how tensed and freaked out I was about the two of you finding out. Now that I've finally just blabbed my big secret, I feel kind of light."

Sitting there like that, Dash was struck by how much Kwan and Fenton looked like a cute couple in that moment. He swallowed back a bitter taste in his mouth. What was that anyway? It wasn't like it was even a possibility. Kwan was... available. Ever since he broke up with Valerie, Kwan never seemed to stick to dating anyone for long. Fenton, on the other hand, was currently dating someone. Dash knew Kwan would never wedge himself in between two people dating.

Ignoring that strange feeling twisting in his chest, Dash dropped onto the couch with them as he sighed. "This is so strange." He stared at Fenton, who did have this happier air around him now. "I never would have imagined I'd be sharing an apartment with Phantom."

Fenton grinned, his eyes gleaming playfully. "Want me to sign anything for you?" he teased as he nudged Dash with his foot.

Kwan snickered, gaining a frown from Dash. "I'm sure he still has that horrible Phantom figurine you could sign."

Fenton groaned. "I never agreed to that. It doesn't even look me."

"Why am I the only being teased here?" Dash folded his arms. "Kwan was a Phantom fan too."

"You were worse," Kwan and Fenton answered together with twin, snickering grins. Dash rolled his eyes, but he guessed he deserved the teasing after everything he did in the past.


	30. Chapter 30

When Dash and Danny started arguing the moment they entered the apartment, panic and dread filled Kwan. He knew becoming friends was a process and, no matter how well people got along, fighting was a part of a relationship. People didn't agree with everything one hundred percent of the time, and differing opinions caused friction. With Dash and Danny, Kwan feared it was the beginning of the end for their happy living arrangement.

He never expected the argument would be resolved by Danny revealing himself as Phantom. It was still crazy to thinking about it even a week later. All that time in high school when they were bullying Danny, they were tormenting the hero they admired. When Kwan tried to talk to him about it, Danny brushed it off, telling him it was all water under the bridge. Kwan knew it was just rehashing the same guilt he still felt about his past treatment of Danny, but finding out the truth about Danny being Phantom somehow made him feel doubly guilty. No one wanted to discover they once bullied their hero.

Over the week, Kwan kept catching Dash shooting looks at Danny. He suspected it was because Dash still wanted to confront Danny more about the fact that his parents hunted him as Phantom. By Wednesday, Kwan grabbed his friend at the end of the school day and dragged him back to his office where they could talk in private. Closing the door behind them, he turned on his friend and folded his arms.

"If you keep acting like this, you're going to freak Danny out," Kwan said flatly. "He'll think you're creeped out about him being Phantom or something. He needs to know we don't see him any differently so he can be comfortable around us. And you," he jabbed a finger into his friend's chest, "shooting him those looks won't help anything."

"It's hard not to see him a little differently." Dash cracked a small grin, but it quickly fell flat. "I mean, he's _Phantom_. Naturally, we're going to be a little in awe of him."

The first time Danny phased back into the apartment as Phantom, Dash started with a yelp of surprise, dropping the mug of coffee he was carry back over to the couch. Danny helped clean up the mess, and Kwan had to keep from laughing at Dash's mouth hanging open and eyes full of awe. They were quick to take Danny's word for it, but actually seeing him as Phantom still blew his mind away. It would be easy to dismiss Danny's story as completely unbelievable if they didn't see Danny transform right before their eyes. Rings of light passed over his body, reverting him back to human from ghost. Kwan could imagine the screaming Dash did internally every time he thought about the fact that Danny was Phantom.

"That's not why you keep staring."

Dash sighed as he leaned back against the desk crammed into the small office. "I can't just ignore how his parents hunted him."

"I know." Kwan frowned, his gaze lowering.

"I know what it's like being scared of a parent." Dash pressed a hand to his chest. "I know what it's like to fear being hurt by someone that's supposed to love me and protect me and keep me safe."

Kwan grabbed hold of Dash's shoulders, his hands squeezing around them. "I _know_." He held Dash's gaze, almost trying to get every ounce of emotion he had for his friend through to him with that look. It wouldn't work, he knew, because Dash would still only see him as just a friend. "But I also know forcing someone to talk doesn't work. If he wants to talk about that part of his life, we have to let him start the conversation." He pulled one hand away and lightly flicked Dash on the forehead. "Remember how I hounded you after seeing that bandage on your back? You nearly completely shut me out of your life." His smile faltered as he recalled how much that hurt. "But when I stopped, you eventually worked up enough courage to tell me about it. We need to do that for Danny."

Dash breathed out loudly and dramatically to show his frustration and displeasure with waiting. "Yeah," he grumbled, "I guess you're right."

Kwan's mouth pursed. "You're nothing like your father, and you never will be. The fact that you worry so much about Danny is proof of that." Then he leaned back with a grin as he slapped a hand to Dash's shoulder. "Anyway, if it was super serious, Jazz would have done something about it."

Dash's brow knitted. "What makes you think Jazz knows?"

Kwan rolled his eyes. "Because Jazz is too smart not to have figured it out. And knowing her, I bet she waited for when Danny was ready to tell her instead of confronting him the moment she found out."

Dash nodded, his eyes rolling. "Yeah, okay. You're right."

Kwan chuckled. "Of course I am."

Dash surprised him by suddenly drawing Kwan into a hug. "I don't think I deserve someone as good as you."

Kwan dropped his gaze as he closed his arms around his friend. "You deserve better," he murmured, savoring the contact with a heavy heart. He always felt like he was taking advantage of moments like this. _I'm a bad friend_.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!"

Kwan jerked away from Dash, twisting around in time to see the thick curly mass of dark hair disappear past the doorway as the female student bolted from the office. A warm flush crept across his cheeks. "I guess we should get going." He stepped out of the office, hoping he didn't sound too awkward. "I think we have a few more things to pick up for dinner tomorrow." Dash didn't make a comment, for which Kwan was relieved.

They hit the grocery store on the way home, picking up the remaining ingredients they needed for their Thanksgiving dinner. When they got back to the apartment, Kwan started preparing the brine for the turkey, a small one, just enough for four people. Meanwhile, Danny worked on baking the pumpkin pie.

"Are you going to make some pumpkin bread too?" Dash asked, leaning on the counter as he watched the other two work.

A smile pulled at Danny's mouth as he scooped the pumpkin pulp out of the can and into a mixing bowl. "And you were teasing me about liking pumpkin?" He grabbed the mixer and blended everything in the bowl together.

Dash stared, his mouth slowly curling downward. "Okay." He stood up straighter with a serious expression. "What's the deal with that comment you made before? That whole 'as long as it doesn't have sword through it' or whatever. That has some ghost connection, doesn't it?"

Danny laughed. "Yeah. I should have known better than to let that slip out." He shut off the mixer. "Remember our whole haunted house competition?"

"Of course."

"Well, at the time, I was so desperate to beat you, that when I heard about this sword in the Ghost Zone that belonged to the spirit of Halloween, I thought it was the perfect thing to give me the advantage." Danny cringed like he was remembering a terrible experience. "I probably should have listened to Sam. Pulling the sword from the pumpkin, I kind of freed the ghost, who was all too eager to unleash nightmares onto Amity Park until I managed to get the sword back and plunge it into a pumpkin. I could have taken the win Lancer gave me, but I would have felt guilty about it even now. I didn't want to win by cheating."

"I probably would have been fine with it," Dash said as his mouth pursed slightly. "But now, if I had won by cheating, I probably wouldn't like myself very much for it."

Kwan smiled to himself as he listened to their conversation. He was happy to see them getting along so well after everything, but he would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little jealous of their bonding. Putting his focus back into his own work, he tried to smash down that feeling. Dash and Danny were simply growing closer as friends. There was nothing for him to feel jealous about, and it wasn't like he didn't spend plenty of time bonding with Danny too. They were already discussing ways to build a shield suitable for the high school.

"So what do your friends think about you telling us your big secret?" Kwan asked curiously. He glanced up to see the color draining from Danny's face. "You haven't told them?"

Danny winced. "No. I know! I should tell them." He hung his head. "I'm pretty sure Sam won't be happy about it. She was already worried about me living in the same apartment with the two of you. She and Jazz threatened to come out here if either of you hurt me, and Jazz usually only threatens violence when it's about ghosts. Tucker probably won't like it, but he'll try to be supportive of it."

"It's probably best to get done and over with," Dash suggested as he picked up one of the carrot sticks he got out from the refrigerator for a snack.

"Maybe after we're done with all this Thanksgiving stuff." Danny placed a pie crust onto the counter then picked up the mixing bowl to pour the pumpkin mixture into the crust. "Tomorrow needs to be a nice, peaceful dinner." He looked up and stared for a long time at Dash before glancing to Kwan. "Since Hayley is going to be here for it, I just don't want any drama."

Dash snorted. "Okay. First," he pointed a carrot stick at Danny, "that was completely obvious. Second, it's Thanksgiving. Isn't drama sort of a given?"

Kwan reached over and bopped his friend on the head. "We haven't had drama, have we?"

"That was just the two of us." Dash shrugged then bit off one end of the carrot stick. "I promise that I will try my best not to stir up any drama. If that's what you need to hear."

"It does make me feel better," Danny admitted.

Kwan glanced at the time on the microwave. It was still on the early side of the evening, too early to put the turkey into the brine, he decided. He worried if he let it brine for too long, then the turkey might end up being too salty. When a thought occurred to him, he snapped his gaze back to Danny, who was pulling open the oven door. His mouth hung open as his eyes grew wide.

"What is it?" Dash asked when he noticed Kwan's expression.

"If you're Phantom," Kwan pointed at Danny, "then does that mean Valerie is the Red Huntress?"

"Holy cow, that makes sense!" Dash gaped as Danny almost slammed the oven door closed after placing the pie on the center rack.

"I," Danny set the timer, purposely keeping his gaze away from his roommates, "don't know what you're talking about."

"Your lies seem pretty obvious now." Dash squinted, and Kwan could see Danny wince from his vantage point.

"We're not going to say anything to Valerie," Kwan promised. "If she ever decides to tell us, she can tell us in her own time.

Danny sighed, hanging his head slightly. "Okay. But you leave my name out of this if it ever comes up, because I don't want her smacking me for revealing her secret. I hate being that person who blabs about other people's secrets."

"We won't say a word about you." Kwan nodded his head, but something was still tickling at his mind. "Do you know something about the robberies that have been happening? Is that why you were at that gas station when it was attacked?"

Danny opened his mouth then blinked. "Wait. How do you know about the gas station?"

"I bumped into Jeremy after the swim meet. A friend of his was telling him the whole story."

Danny sighed, rubbing his forehead. "So much for keeping that quiet." He moved to lean against the counter. "There's not a whole to tell at the moment. I caught a few of the ghosts before they could do any harm to the places they were robbing. But they were all pretty confused about the whole thing afterward. We're looking into what could be the cause of these blackouts with the ghosts."

"Why would ghosts blackout and rob places?" Dash frowned. "It's kind of illogical, isn't it?"

"And that's the big problem, isn't it?" Danny groaned, rubbing at his tired eyes. "Since that timeframe is a blank to them, they couldn't tell me anything about the why. But," he stood up straighter, almost looking happier, "we did get a break in this case. One of the ghosts revealed they needed the money for a sick girl they're afraid will die. But the problem is: what girl? If I knew that, maybe I could narrow down who's behind all of this."

"Knowing it's a girl isn't really a lot to go on." Dash tapped a finger on the counter top in thought. For some reason, his "thinking" face often looked more like an angry face. Then his gaze snapped up, darting between his roommates. "Didn't Jeremy say his sister was sick? He's working that job so he can help out with the bills."

"Oh, come on!" Kwan glared hard at his friend. "You can't really think _Jeremy_ would be behind this. He's a good kid. He's never gotten into trouble. He's nice and doesn't stand for his friends bullying anyone. He would _never_ do anything like this."

"People do crazy things for the people they love." Dash shrugged, but he looked troubled by the idea.

"I should go talk to him." Danny turned to leave the kitchen, but Kwan caught his arm.

"Before you go charging off into the night, don't you think you should get some proof before you go accusing him?" Kwan didn't want to believe Jeremy could be behind anything like this. _How_ could Jeremy be behind it? "If you go in on the attack, automatically thinking it's him, you might make him shut down, and he won't give you any answers like that. And it might not even be him."

Danny frowned, and Kwan feared he would simply phase his arm free then fly off to confront Jeremy. But he sighed instead. "All right. I guess I should at least let him enjoy Thanksgiving with his family." His mouth remained slightly pursed. "But I'm still going to patrol and make sure no ghosts pop up during this time to rob anyplace."

"Look," Dash said, calling Kwan's attention to him. "None of want to believe that Jeremy could be doing this, but we can only go off the information we have. Right now, he's the likely suspect. If we ignore him simply because we don't want to believe it, he could do something to hurt someone, or even himself."

Kwan lowered his eyes. "I get that. But I just _can't_ see him being the one doing this. How would it even be possible?"

Danny considered the question like he was reviewing over ten years of ghost fighting. "It might not be that impossible. But-" His brow furrowed, creating deep creases. "Sam broke that. Could there be others? I should see if Vlad knows anything."

"Vlad?" Dash questioned with suspicion in his voice.

Danny blinked as he glanced over to Dash. "Vlad Masters. Um," he rubbed at his neck, "he's a friend of the family and knows about ghost stuff too."

"Ghost stuff like your parents or that he knows your secret?" Kwan asked.

Danny winced. "He knows. Not that I wanted him to know in the beginning, but he's a smart guy. If anyone would have a clue about what's happening, it would be him. I just prefer not having to ask for his help. Well, there is one other person, but he usually lets me suffer through figuring out the answer on my own."

"Sounds like a teacher," Dash pointed out before he popped the end of a carrot stick into his mouth. "But going back to this whole possession thing. Did you ever possess me?"

Danny snapped his gaze away quickly.

Dash paled slightly. "You did!"

"It- I didn't do it on purpose. I didn't even know I could overshadow someone until it happened. You just happened to be that unfortunate person. Though to be fair, you had just shoved me into a locker so you could talk to Paulina."

"Is that why she wouldn't talk to me for, like, a week?"

"Maybe?" Danny sighed. "I don't do that anymore." He met and held Dash's gaze. "I promise I will never overshadow you again."

"What's it like though?" Kwan couldn't help being a little curious. "Like, when you overshadow someone, can you read their thoughts?"

"Uh, well, I never did." Danny shrugged uncertainly. "And I don't think I would have tried to. In the beginning, I kind of used the ability to my advantage. I had done poorly on a test and my dad was supposed to have a talk with Lancer. But I was kind of afraid of giving him that bad news so I overshadow my dad and went to the meeting as him. But overtime, I grew to like that particular ability less and less. It just didn't feel right taking over someone's body like that."

Kwan nodded slowly as he digested what Danny said. First hearing about it, the idea of overshadowing people interested him, but now, thinking on it more, Kwan could understand why Danny grew to dislike the ability. No one wanted to have control of their own body stolen from them.

"I do apologize for overshadowing you in the past," Danny told Dash, bowing his head in shame.

"I don't like it." Dash frowned. "But I guess I can't really do anything about it now. As long as you never do it again, I'll forgive you."

Kwan smiled proudly to himself, happy that Dash matured enough to deal with this situation in a civil manner. If he learned about this in high school, Dash would probably be trying to pound Danny into the ground right now.


	31. Chapter 31

The conversation remained on his mind, even the next day. After he finished baking the pie, Danny left the apartment and spent most of the night and into the early morning patrolling for any ghost activity. He returned to the apartment after a fruitless patrol feeling exhausted. Maybe he should have looked up where Jeremy lived so he could snoop around the house for any evidence of Jeremy's involvement in what was happening. As adamant as Kwan was about Jeremy not being the one behind it, Danny couldn't simply rule him out, especially when Jeremy was his best lead.

He frowned when he recalled Jeremy's comment. At the time, Danny was more focused on learning what wrong with his student and trying to help him. Some teachers might dismiss it as Jeremy simply trying to get out of the situation through distraction, but mentioning spirits seemed too much to be a coincidence. Could Jeremy somehow sense the ectoplasm mixed with Danny's DNA? No, it seemed like Jeremy only picked up on the oddity recently, after the whole "dizzy spell" incident. But how could Jeremy pick up on that? Even if they were still in Amity Park, it would be strange. Was it a sign that Jeremy was behind the robberies? Dash must have remembered the comment, too, leading him to jump to that conclusion and bring up Jeremy as a possibility.

Danny worked almost mechanically as he helped put together their Thanksgiving meal. Dash turned on the television to the football game, which distracted him more than once and earned him a whack on the hand with a spatula from Kwan. Danny may have laughed at it if he wasn't distracted himself. How could Jeremy pull off controlling the ghosts? Danny knew it was possible, having been under the influence of someone else's control. It was just another reason he grew to dislike overshadowing people. Between Freakshow and Sydney Poindexter booting him out of his own body, Danny hated the idea of controlling someone else, even for a short period of time.

Even though he finally told the truth to Dash and Kwan, he still held back information from them. He couldn't help wanting to keep them from worrying too much. Over the week since his big reveal to them, he experienced that tug three more times. Luckily, they happened when he was alone so he didn't have to worry about excuses to tell people. His stomach felt like a hollow pit when he thought about those "dizzy spells." Once could have easily been passed off as being an accident, but multiple times told him he was definitely being targeted.

But Sam destroyed Freakshow's ghost controlling gem, and Freakshow remained locked up by the Guys in White. Danny didn't know of any other gems like the one Freakshow had, though he couldn't deny the possibility that there were others. As much as he hated asking for Vlad's help, even if they were on better terms now, Danny sent a text to his once arch nemesis about everything. He was still waiting to hear back, but Vlad was a busy man.

"Hey," Dash nudged him in the arm with his elbow, "your phone's been buzzing for a few minutes now."

Danny jerked out of his daze and glanced around to see both his roommates eying him with concern. He almost groaned out loud. _So much for not making them worry even more_ , he thought with an internal sigh. "Ah, sorry!" Danny winced. "I was just thinking about the whole ghost problem, and I guess I got a bit distracted." He grabbed a towel and wiped his hands clean then picked up his phone. Hope flitted through him until he saw the message didn't come from Vlad. It came from Will with a picture attached to it. A smile spread onto his face when he saw it with the caption, "It's a boy!"

"Looks like good news," Kwan said, checking on the turkey roasting in the oven.

"Uh, yeah." Danny lifted his gaze, still smiling. "Remember that other coach you met at the swim meet? His wife just had their son." He turned the phone around so his roommates could see the picture of the happy family.

"That's wonderful!" Kwan said cheerfully.

"She looks pretty exhausted," Dash commented and got smacked in the ribs by Kwan.

"I have heard that giving birth for merpeople is pretty intensive, especially out of water." Danny pocketed his phone. He was about to turn back to chopping vegetables for their salad when he noticed the gawking stares from his roommates. "Uh, I never mentioned that, did I?" He bit his lower lip. "Surprise! Merpeople exist too!"

"If I didn't already know about ghosts, I might find that completely unbelievable," Kwan said, only a little numbly in shock.

"I think I need proof before I believe it." Dash frowned.

"You believed me." Danny grinned, batting his eyes until Dash shoved him. "Anyway, he does want to introduce me to his wife. She doesn't believe a half ghost can exist. We can prove things to the both of you at the same time." Danny picked up his knife and chopped up the lettuce on the cutting board before him. "I doubt Will would mind if I brought some friends along." As he worked on the salad, he recalled Will's question the day of the meet: Which one are you dating? His gaze drifted toward his roommates as Dash held up a spoon for Kwan to taste the potatoes. It didn't matter. He was with Hayley.

A knock sounded at the door, thankfully distracting him from thinking anymore on the question. Danny cleaned his hands as he headed for the door. Dash and Kwan were busy with their contributions to the meal. Danny opened the door with a bright smile on his face.

"Hi," Hayley greeted, shifting nervously. "I didn't know what you would already be cooking or what you might like, so I thought a bottle of wine would be best to bring." She offered a small smile as she held up the bottle in her hands.

"Thanks," Danny said, stepping back to allowed her to enter the apartment. "You weren't required to bring anything, but we appreciate it." He closed the door as she hung up her bag and coat. Then he led her over to the kitchen. "I think we still have a little bit before the turkey is ready."

"Ten minutes max," Kwan corrected, peeking over the top of the stove. "Hey, Hayley." He smiled as he stood. "I hope you brought a big appetite. We, uh, may have made more food than necessary."

"Well, it all smells great. Though I hope you didn't go through too much trouble cooking just because I was coming." She handed the bottle off to Dash as he passed her.

Kwan shook his head. "This is everything we usually make. Except we doubled the amount so there would definitely be enough for four people."

"If we have leftovers, we can package some up for you to take home," Danny offered. When he looked over everything they made for Thanksgiving, he knew they wouldn't be able to eat everything.

The time passed quickly. Hayley helped Danny with the finishing touches on the salad. Then they worked together to set up the table. It wasn't anything fancy, as they didn't have any fancy dishware for special occasions. Danny placed the bowl of salad in the center of the table while Hayley set out wine glasses when Kwan announced the turkey was finally ready. In another few minutes, they had a plate of carved turkey they could pick from, a bowl of mashed potatoes, and another of stuffing. A boat of gravy sat between the potatoes and stuffing. Danny poured the wine into each of their glasses. When everything was set out and ready, they all sat down with Dash and Kwan on one side and Danny and Hayley on the other.

"Everything looks really good," Hayley said, glancing over the meal like she couldn't decide where to begin.

"We hope you enjoy it," Kwan said as he offered her the plate of carved turkey for first pick.

Hayley flushed lightly as she took the plate. "I'm sure it all tastes amazing." She took what she wanted from the plate than passed it onto Danny.

"Did you hear about the play yet?" Danny asked, and after Hayley began piling food onto her plate, the rest of them did the same. Danny passed the turkey plate next to Kwan, who sat across from him.

Hayley nodded and swallowed her sip of wine before speaking. "I got the part! I can hardly believe it. It almost feels like a dream. I start rehearsals next week."

"That's great!" Danny smiled as he drizzled some gravy over his turkey and potatoes. "You'll have to let me know when tickets go on sale so I can buy one."

"You're going to be in a play?" Dash questioned, and Danny felt his stomach drop, praying his roommate wouldn't say anything rude. "That's pretty amazing."

"Thanks!" Hayley flushed darkly as Danny relaxed. So far, their Thanksgiving was going smoothly. "As excited as I am about it, I'm kind of nervous too. And, since this is Thanksgiving, I'd like to thank Danny." She held up her wine glass like she was toasting him. "If I hadn't met you, I'm not sure I would ever have taken this chance and tried out for the play."

"I guess if we're giving thanks, we have to thank Danny too," Kwan said, and Danny could feel the heat rising to his cheeks.

"And not just because of your money," Dash added. "Ow!" He winced as Kwan glared at him, and Danny guessed Kwan kicked him under the table. "I just mean that while it's nice that you living here means you help out with the bills, it's also great that we met again because I don't think I ever would have given you a chance as a friend if our paths never crossed again. Now I'm glad we did because you've become a good friend."

"Then I will also say I'm thankful for reuniting with you." Danny picked up his wine glass. "And not just because my old apartment was crap." His mouth quirked slightly. "But because I've really liked getting to know the two of you beyond what I knew of you in high school. And," he turned to Hayley, "I'm glad to have met you too. You are a beautiful woman, both inside and out, and I enjoy talking to you. Even if I still feel like an awkward dork."

"I like your awkward dorkiness." Hayley laughed, which made Danny relax a little. "It's far more refreshing than the mucho jerks who can only talk about himself that I've dated in the past. You actually take an interest in what I say."

"Okay. Okay. Enough mushy stuff," Dash said, holding out his wine glass. "Shall we get the cheers over with and back to eating?"

"You couldn't be a little more subtly?" Kwan shot a flat glare at him.

"Sorry. We've been cooking most of the day, and I'm hungry." Dash's stomach grumbled loudly in agreement.

"I guess we better not wait any longer." Danny chuckled as they clinked glasses. They all sipped from their glasses then continued with their meal.

After the conversation moved on for a bit, Hayley gave Dash a hard glare, which surprised and worried Danny. "Celeste wasn't too happy when we met over the weekend." Her mouth pursed, and Danny swore Dash was sweating a little. "I can't believe you would break things off with her! When we met at Halloween, the two of you got along so well."

Dash winced. "She didn't cry, did she? I didn't mean to hurt her. I did enjoy talking with her on Halloween. She was great!" He sighed, his shoulders drooping. "The problem is with me. And I don't mean that like the 'it's me, not you, but really it's you' kind of way. I have things to sort out with myself, and I just didn't think it was fair to her to wait on me to figure things out."

Hayley eyed him for a minute longer before exhaling loudly. "I suppose I can let it slide this time. But," she pointed a fork at him, "I don't want to hear from her that you've upset her again."

"I promise." Dash held up a hand. "I will do my best never to hurt Celeste again."

"Good." Hayley nodded, satisfied with his response.

They talked about plenty of things after that. Hayley told them how she met Jazz. It was during their sophomore year at university, and they very nearly ran right into each other. They became roommates in a small apartment off campus during the following year and stayed friends after graduating. Jazz told her version of the story to Danny ages ago, but Kwan asked Hayley about it. Then, of course, the tables turned, and Hayley asked to hear stories about their days together in high school.

"And then," Dash snickered, struggling to continue telling the story as Danny's face darkened with embarrassment, "he stands up from the pile of junk, and he's completely decked out like one of the women in _My Fair Lady_."

"Lancer was _not_ happy about that little interruption," Kwan added, biting back his own laughter.

"I didn't plan for that to happen," Danny mumbled, making a mental note to tell them exactly what took place during that event when they were alone.

"But it makes for a pretty funny story." Hayley patted his arm, but she was laughing too.

After they finished dinner, they spent the rest of the evening chatting while sitting on the couch and eating slices of pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. Some random show played on the television, but none of them paid much attention. It was well past eleven when Dash thought it was time for bed. He and Kwan got up and put away the remainder of the food and put the big pots in the sink to soak.

"Um, so," Danny said awkwardly when he and Hayley sat alone on the couch, "it's pretty late. Do you want me to wait with you for a cab? Or, um-" He bit his lip, not wanting to presume anything.

"I was thinking," Hayley brushed back a strand of her hair, "that I might stay the night. If that's okay."

"Of course it is!" Danny assured her when he caught a hint of worry in her eyes. Hayley smiled, relieved but also looking a little nervous. Danny had to admit he was nervous too. "Uh, well, I guess I'll show you to my room. You can- Oh, uh, did you bring anything with you? I have some clothes and stuff you can borrow."

Hayley shook her head. "I packed some stuff, just in case. But I would like to use the bathroom first."

"Yeah! Of course. Um, my room is that one." Danny pointed to the door of his room.

Hayley nodded then stood. She grabbed her bag on the way to the bathroom. When the door closed behind her, Danny released his breath, trying to calm the nervous jitters inside him. He joined his roommates in the kitchen to finish putting everything away. He didn't miss the knowing smirks on their faces, which only made his own face redden. Thankfully, they didn't make any comments about Hayley staying the night.

When he saw Hayley leave the bathroom and quietly slip into his bedroom, Danny took the opportunity to use the bathroom next. He flossed, brushed his teeth, and rinsed everything out with mouthwash. Nothing killed a romantic night faster than a mouth of food stuck in the teeth and bad breath. He rubbed a hand over his face and chin but decided his skin was smooth enough to skip shaving. Staring at his reflecting the mirror, he took a deep breath then slowly released it. He had no reason to be nervous. He dated and slept with women, and men, before, but the first time always kicked his nervousness into overdrive.

Danny left the bathroom then walked to his bedroom. When he opened the door, he found Hayley already under the covers of his bed. Her face flushed darkly when she looked up and saw him. After closing the door, Danny walked over to join her. He sat down on the bed and took of his shoes. Why was this feeling so awkward? He turned to face Hayley, who had folded down the covers.

"Wow," Danny breathed when he saw the sheer red lace nightie she wore.

Hayley's face nearly matched the same shade of red. "Celeste helped me pick it out," she said with her eyes lowered. "I wasn't sure if tonight would really be the night, but I thought I should be prepared just in case."

"It's- Wow! You look really beautiful." Danny smiled as he reached out, cupping her cheek with his hand. He lifted her head and leaned for a kiss. Unfortunately, he misjudged things, and they bumped noses. "Ah! Sorry!"

Hayley shook her head, rubbing her nose. "It's okay!" Her mouth twitched in a small smile that felt a little off. "We don't have to rush into it."

"R-Right." Danny climbed under the covers, and for a while, they sat in awkward silence. "So I guess I should tell you that I get tested regularly, and I don't have any diseases."

Hayley nodded. "That's good. I, too, get tested. All clean here. I'm also on the pill, but I still prefer you wear a condom."

"Of course." Danny nodded, and another moment of silence passed between them. "Should it feel this awkward?"

"It never has for me." Hayley turned to Danny and grabbed hold of his face.

Their lips met this time without any nose bumps, but it wasn't the most pleasant kiss Danny ever experienced. Their lips mashed together in a way that made Danny fear they would bruise. He pulled back slightly then eased into the kiss more gently. They shared short kisses as Danny let a hand drift, sliding down the smooth skin of Hayley's neck and shoulder. They took their time exploring. Danny trailed kisses down her neck. Hayley slipped her hands under his shirt, running her fingers over the taut muscles resulting from Danny's years of training for swimming and fighting ghosts. Her fingers brushed over his scars, following the lines carved years ago into his flesh. She didn't ask about them, and he was thankful for that. Danny rested his chin on her shoulder, frowning as he struggled with the clasp on the back of her bra. It reminded him of his first time, which was a mess of fumbling between the two of them. Why was undoing this clasp so difficult for him?

Hayley pulled back, pushing him away to put distance between them. She leaned forward with her head in her hands while Danny looked on in puzzled silence. "I don't know why, but I'm just not feeling it. I thought I would once we got started, but I'm just not-" She lifted her head and tentatively glanced toward him with a hint of fear in her eyes. "I really like you. You're a great guy, and I really love spending time for you. But I'm just not-"

"You don't feel attracted to me in _that_ way?" Saying it out loud, Danny was almost relieved, but it made him feel guilty at the same time.

"Yeah," Hayley answered then bit her lip. "You're someone I could really see myself being with. When we met, I understood why Jazz thought we would be a great couple. But here, doing this, I just feel like I'm forcing myself, and it _shouldn't_ feel that way."

When he noticed the tears gathering in her eyes, Danny pulled Hayley into a hug. "I think I'm in the same boat. I just... I haven't wanted to admit it. I think I wanted this to work so badly that I was ignoring obvious signs that maybe it wasn't meant to be."

"Is it because of your roommates?" Hayley asked quietly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You're the second person to ask about my roommates like that." Danny frowned, and Hayley laughed a little.

"Maybe that's a hint, you goof."

"Maybe," Danny admitted. "I do still want to support you in the play. And if it's not awkward, I'd like to stay friends."

"I'd like that." Hayley sighed as she pulled out of the hug. "I'm sorry-"

"There's really nothing for you to say sorry about. Dating you has been really great, even if it was for a short time. I can definitely say you are tied for the best girlfriend I've ever had. Which is to say you're tied with the first real girlfriend I've ever had, so I kind of consider that a pretty high standard to meet."

"I'm very honored then." Hayley smiled, playing with the edge of the covers.

"Um," Danny tugged awkwardly at his ear, "it's pretty late. I don't want to be the kind of jerk that kicks you out just because things didn't work out. So you can have the bed, and I can go sleep on the couch."

"Don't be silly. We're adults. I think we can manage to share a bed together."

"I just didn't want it to be awkward for you."

"You're so sweet! And I still can't believe this didn't work out for us."

Danny shrugged helpless. "I guess sometimes even the person who seems perfect just isn't. There's no rhyme or reason to it. It just is."

"Yeah," Hayley agreed with a sigh. Then a smile spread onto her face. "But I'm glad this didn't turn into some big fight because I do want to stay friends."

Danny smiled back. "I'm glad too."


	32. Chapter 32

Dash quietly shoveled a spoonful of Wheaties into his mouth as he watched from the couch. Fenton and his girlfriend woke up not too long ago, exiting from his bedroom just after Dash sat down to enjoy his cereal. Instead of making something for breakfast and coming to join him on the couch, the pair walked over to the apartment door. Their words were whispered, and try as he might, Dash couldn't pick out what they were saying. Hayley came prepared for staying the night; he noted. She wore an entirely new outfit this morning, comfy jeans and a warm knitted lavender sweater. After pulling Fenton into a hug, she gave him a peck on the cheek then disappeared out the door.

Fenton closed the door, exhaling loudly as his shoulders fell an inch. When Fenton turned around, Dash quickly averted his gaze, trying to pretend he wasn't engrossed in watching what was happening. Fenton snorted, and a moment later, he dropped onto the couch, sitting next to Dash. He looked tired and sad yet somehow relieved. Dash's eyebrow quirked upward in curiosity. Other than tired, he didn't know how those emotions related to what he suspected went on last night when the couple was alone.

"Hayley and I broke up," Fenton announced like he was commenting on the weather.

Dash choked on his cereal. He leaned forward to set the bowl on the table, coughing as Fenton patted him on the back. "What do you mean you broke up?" He snapped his head around so quickly Fenton jerked his hand back like he thought his roommate might bite him. "Why?"

He tried to wrap his mind around it, but it didn't make any sense. They acted all cutesy and happy last night during dinner. Dash knew he had his own problems preventing him currently from pursuing a relationship, but he didn't see any reason for Fenton to end his relationship with Hayley.

"Have you ever been with a woman and everything seems to be going well but then when it comes time," Fenton frowned, his eyes darting to Dash almost like he was waiting to be laughed at, "neither of you really feel it?"

"It?" Dash's brow knitted.

"You know," Fenton shrugged, " _it_. Hayley is beautiful and smart and funny and so many other things, but I just couldn't make myself be attracted to her."

"Oh." Dash blinked then sat up ramrod straight. "Oh!" His eyes widened. "You didn't have sex last night!"

Fenton's cheeks flared bright red. "Thank you for shouting that. I'm sure our neighbors needed to hear that."

"Sorry." Dash winced, not meaning to yell it so loudly.

"What was that?" Kwan asked, yawning as he shuffled over to the couch. He rubbed at one eye with the heel of his palm. He still wore an old pair of sweatpants with a hole in one knee for his pajamas.

"Fenton got dumped."

"Not dumped!" Fenton smacked Dash on the arm. "It was a mutual breakup. As much as we like each other, it's more of a friendship like than the romantic like. We're still going to talk and hang out. We're just not dating anymore."

"Hm." Kwan squeezed onto the couch with his roommates. "That sounds kind of like Valerie and me. I mean, she was a great girlfriend. We just didn't mesh," he laced his fingers, "together as a couple."

"Yeah!" Fenton snapped his fingers then pointed at Kwan. "It's like that. Val and I ended up the same way."

Kwan nodded. "It was mutual. But do you need anything? We could break out the ice cream and watch terrible movies to make you feel better?" He had that worried crease in brow, and Dash remembered that concerned look whenever he would come home after ending it with someone.

Fenton shook his head. "I'm all right. We had a good talk about the whole thing last night." He got to his feet. "I think I'm going to dig a little more into this ghost problem." He held up his hands. "I promise I won't go charging over to confront Jeremy." He frowned in thought. "I probably could have saved myself some trouble in the past if I played things smarter instead of always charging head first into every fight without understanding the whole situation."

"Anything we can do to help?" Kwan asked.

Fenton considered then shook his head. "I can't think of anything at the moment. But if I come up with something, I'll let you know." He transformed, in a flash of light standing before them as Phantom. "I'll be back later."

Dash lifted a hand to wave. "See you later." He watched as Fenton walked toward the wall of the apartment facing the street. As he walked, he slowly vanished from sight. Dash waited a few minutes to be sure Fenton was gone before he turned to Kwan. "That really doesn't get old. Seeing him do all that ghost stuff."

Kwan's mouth curled into a smirk. "You're totally screaming inside, aren't you?"

"No!" Dash scowled at his friend, but Kwan wasn't entirely wrong. He felt like he was fourteen again, admiring his hero and wishing maybe to friends with him one day. He never imagined it would come true, and he certainly couldn't have guessed Phantom was Fenton. Being roommates with Phantom was almost like a dream come true.

Kwan rolled his eyes. "You don't have to lie with me. I know you're excited about the fact that Danny is Phantom. I'm still kind of surprised he told us his secret, but I'm really glad he did. I feel like we've all grown a lot closer with that out of the way, and Danny seems a lot happier, more content without that looming over him."

"And you're happy you can geek out with him about the shield and asking him a million technical questions about being a ghost." Dash smirked as he saw a hint of redness creeping onto Kwan's cheeks. He almost hated the way that ate at him. "You really like him, huh?"

Kwan laughed, giving him a shrug as he stood. "Of course, I do! Danny's great! And he's probably the best roommate we've had. And you thought you wouldn't like Danny." With a snort, he shook his head and walked toward the kitchen.

It wasn't entirely what Dash meant, but he thought maybe it was better his question was misunderstood. He grabbed his bowl then followed Kwan into the kitchen. He rinsed his bowl out as Kwan searched around for something to make for his own breakfast.

"Dash?"

"Hm?"

"What was that confusion talk Danny brought up before?"

Dash froze in the middle of placing his bowl and spoon in the washer. Then he winced. He thought that part of the argument would be forgotten.

"I'm not going to pressure you into telling me anything." Kwan cracked an egg into a bowl. "But you can talk to me about anything." He grabbed a fork from the drawer then started whisking the eggs into a gooey yellow soup.

"Yeah, I know." Dash closed the dishwasher door then turned to lean against the counter. He watched Kwan cook his scrambled eggs for a while. Then he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, you know I've only dated women." He swallowed his tongue when Kwan snapped his head around to face him, his aqua green eyes wide. Looking away, Dash rubbed at his neck. "I wasn't lying about not really feeling anything toward Celeste. She's nice, and being friends with her would be good. But romantically, I just wasn't connecting with her. But lately, I don't know. I guess I've been trying to figure out if I'm strictly attracted to women or not."

Kwan's brow creased as he checked on his eggs to make sure they weren't burning. "What brought on that kind of thinking?"

"Um, well, I'm no genius on dream interpretation. But it's gotta mean something if I'm having dreams where I'm doing some pretty not straight things with a guy, right?" His cheeks burned despite his efforts to fight it off.

Kwan turned off the burner then got down a plate for eggs. "Who was the guy?"

"That- That's not really important." Dash waved off the question as he bit his lip. How could he say that when he had these dreams, they tended to feature one or both of his roommates? He didn't want to make Kwan uncomfortable. Yes, he was aware that some people might question him admitting to possible feelings for his best friend of practically his whole life. Why was he only now seeing Kwan in a different way? Dash didn't have any real answer to the question, but maybe he simply wasn't able to while he was stuck thinking he was one hundred percent straight. "But is that weird? I've spent my whole life thinking I'm straight, and now I'm considering that maybe I'm not."

Kwan shook his head, snorting a short laugh. "Dash, that's completely normal. Plenty of people only start to question their sexuality later in life. It's not something that has to be defined as a teenager, and then it's set in stone. It's about how you," he pointed his fork at Dash, "feel and want to define yourself. If other people want to argue it, screw them. They don't get a say in how you identify yourself."

Dash nodded. He knew that. He tried to make sure students at the high school knew the very same thing. But he still found himself struggling with the whole concept in relation to himself. "I guess," he scratched behind an ear, his gaze lowering to the floor, "it's a lot easier offering advice on this than following it."

"Well, you don't need to beat yourself up about it." Kwan ate some of his eggs. "Was that all your confusion was about? You could have come to me with that earlier."

Dash shrugged. "I guess I just didn't know how to deal with it. I mean, my first reaction was there's no way I could be anything but straight." He frowned, folding his arms as he glared at the floor. "Thanks again, Dad."

Kwan set his plate down on the counter then closed the distance between them. "Hey," he placed a hand on Dash's shoulder, "do I have to go through another speech about how you're nothing like your father? Because you know I will. Yes, he may have influenced your initial reaction, but you are far more mature about dealing with this kind of stuff than he ever could. Instead of bottling it up or lashing out, you're giving it serious, careful consideration to figure out and understand your own feelings. Your father would just sling around a bunch of homophobic slurs and throw things."

Dash snorted a laugh. "Well, when you put it like that, my dad sounds like a real baby."

"He has the emotional range of a wet napkin," Kwan deadpanned with a blank expression.

Dash patted his friend on the shoulder. "Thanks for the talk. Now I feel a bit silly. If I like guys too, well, who cares? It's not that big of a deal. Right?" He shrugged then held up a fist. "Still friends?"

Kwan rolled his eyes with a light curling of his mouth. "Of course." He bumped his own fist against his friend's fist.

Dash watched Kwan finish off his breakfast. It felt like a relief getting it off his chest, but something else now tickled at his mind. "You really don't want to believe it's Jeremy."

Kwan frowned as he scrubbed his dirty dishes. "I just don't see it. And how would it even be possible?"

"I don't know." Dash shrugged helplessly. "I'm no ghost expert." He folded his arms, thinking hard. "But maybe we could find out something. It would be a big help to Fenton if we could maybe find some hint to whether Jeremy is or isn't involved in this. And if we're lucky, we can clear his name. Unfortunately, then Fenton will be back to square one on suspects."

Kwan dried his hands off after he finished with the dishes. "Why did you think it was Jeremy in the first place?" His brow furrowed as he tried to puzzle out the reasoning on his own. "Just because his sister is in the hospital? If that's the only requirement, I'm sure there are plenty of other people who fit it."

Dash sighed but wouldn't look Kwan in the eye. "I wish that were the only reason his name popped into my mind. But remember how Fenton and I came home arguing the other day? Well, it started because of Jeremy. He punched a locker, so naturally we went to talk to him. He told us about his sister and that he was working really hard at his job to make money to help his parents with the medical expenses."

"He shouldn't have to worry about that kind of thing at his age." Kwan frowned with concern in his eyes.

"Yeah, we said the same. But that wasn't what stuck in my head. I brought up his name because, before he ran away, he mentioned spirits and asked if Fenton was being haunted by something."

Kwan's eyebrows lifted. "Because of that whole dizzy spell thing?" Then his mouth pursed. "Danny was insistent that it wasn't a possession. But then what was it? And how would a ghost be possessed anyway? Is that a thing?"

Dash laughed. "You and Fenton are like two peas in a pod. But it's good you have someone to geek out over that stuff with now."

Kwan snorted. "Oh, like you aren't being a total fan boy inside about Danny being Phantom. You probably have a million questions you want to ask him too."

Dash shrugged, unable to deny it. "But Fenton must have come to the same conclusion about Jeremy's odd question if he thinks Jeremy is suspect number one now." _Yeah, deflecting the topic always looks good_. He nearly smacked himself in the forehead.

Kwan eyed him with a slow lift his eyebrow. "Well," he sighed, "I suppose I can see the logic now. As much as I hate to admit that. But the question is: how do we clear Jeremy's name? Asking him outright probably won't yield a good result. I don't want to accuse him if we have no real concrete proof to back us up."

Dash nodded, understanding the point. "Well, we have until Monday at least to figure something out. We could probably find Jeremy working at his job, but I feel like he might think we're ambushing him. He'd be even less likely to talk then."

"And by we, you actually mean me." Kwan stared flatly at his friend.

"He would probably be more willing to talk to you, as his coach, and I don't think having more than one of us talk to him is going to get him to open up any."

"I guess you do have a point there." Kwan sighed, slightly defeated. "But that doesn't prevent you from helping me figure out a plan on how to best approach this topic with him."

"Yeah, yeah." Dash pushed away from the counter. "Let's go put our thinking caps on then." He left the kitchen, and Kwan followed after him.


	33. Chapter 33

Monday rolled around, and Kwan felt no closer to figuring out the best way to approach Jeremy. He already felt like a nagging teacher even before he attempted to speak with his student. Perhaps he would have focused better on the task if his mind wasn't distracted by their topic of conversation prior to the shift to Jeremy and the ghost robberies. Dash thought he might be bisexual? It took all of Kwan's willpower to hold back a shout of "Pick me!" Even if he found men attractive now, it didn't mean Dash had any interest in him. Kwan sighed at that realization. He wouldn't try to force Dash to notice him. He wanted Dash to like him on his own, not like him out of pity, which he always feared as a possibility if he got the courage up to actually confess his feelings to Dash.

Danny returned to the apartment later that first night, and with a weary sigh, he dropped onto the couch, his body sprawling out like a ragdoll. Wherever he went didn't seem to go well from the deep frown on his face.

"What happened to you?" Dash questioned, his brow creasing when Danny didn't even bother to revert back to human after returning.

Danny lifted his gaze then sighed. "I went to talk to Vlad. Let's just say he still wasn't happy with me about Halloween."

"Doesn't he live in Wisconsin?" Kwan's mouth thinned as he gave Danny a stern glare. The trip there and back was possible in a day, flying at top speed, and he didn't like to think about how hard Danny needed to push himself to make that trip.

"Yeah," Danny agreed, and it took him a moment to realize why Kwan glared at him. "Oh!" His eyes widened and he sat up a little straighter. "No, no!" He waved his hands before him like he was trying to wave off disaster before it struck. "I didn't fly there. I know this ghost." He scratched the back of his head, looking away. "He kind of has this ability to open portals between here and the Ghost Zone. It makes travel a lot easier."

Kwan narrowed his eyes, but after a minute, he sighed. "I just want to make sure you're taking care of yourself."

Danny's mouth curled in a small smile, and Kwan felt his stomach jump. "Thanks." He leaned back on the couch. "And as for an update, Vlad didn't know very much. He knew about the same item that was already destroyed, and he doesn't think another one exists. So it has to be something else. Though even Vlad seemed baffled by what else it could be."

"What else is there?" Dash asked.

"That's what I'm having Vlad look into. He has plenty of resources, so I won't be surprised if he calls me up soon with the answer." Danny sounded sure of it, but in the end, he didn't hear from Vlad at any point over the weekend.

"I'm sure we'll figure out something soon," Kwan said, trying to be encouraging when he caught up to Danny in the hall during school on Monday.

Danny sighed, rubbing at his forehead. The circles under his eyes looked darker than usual, and Kwan worried about just how exhausted he seemed. "I hope so. I want to just get this whole thing over with. I probably shouldn't say this, but sometimes, I just want life to be normal."

Kwan frowned, but he understood, somewhat. He tried to understand at least. He knew it was impossible to understand exactly what Danny was going through and feeling. "It's okay to want that." He placed a hand on Danny's arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. After a cautious glance around the hall, he moved in a little closer and lowered his voice. "You put a lot on your shoulders to be Phantom. It's only fair that you want a break from that every once and a while. If Dash and I can do anything to help ease the burden, we'd be happy to. We're your friends."

A faint smile ghosted over Danny's face. "You sound like Tuck and Sa-"

"Danny!" Kwan caught his other arm, helping to keep Danny steady when he swayed. "What's wrong?"

"My head felt a little fuzzy." Danny rubbed at his forehead. "I don't think I've been getting enough sleep with the patrols. Anyway, I was saying you- What?" He lifted his head to find Kwan frowning severely at him.

"That was another ghost thing, wasn't it?"

"No." Danny turned his gaze away, clearly lying.

"Danny, this is serious. Don't-"

"Coach!"

Still holding Danny up, Kwan turned to see Jeremy jogging down the hall toward them. He paused when he reached them, bending over with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. When he stood up straight, he blinked. "Holy sh-" He winced, glancing at Kwan. "Shrimp! I was totally going to say shrimp!"

"What did you need?" Danny asked, half leaning on Kwan and looking paler than usual. Kwan frowned in concern.

Jeremy flinched, inching toward Kwan's side and away from Danny. "No offense, but I think you really need an exorcist or something." His mouth pressed thin as uncertainty flickered in his eyes. "I don't know what's going on, but it seems to be growing."

"What do you mean?" Kwan's brow creased, feeling like he missed something. "What's growing?"

Jeremy glanced to Danny then back to Kwan. "Ugh, this is creeping me out," he muttered, scratching a hand through his hair. "There's like this darkness around Mr. Fenton. If it's some kind of malevolent spirit, it might be feeding off him or something." He paled, sweat trickling down his temples. "Uh, that sounds weird. I promise I'm not crazy! I only see this with Mr. Fenton."

Kwan looked around the hall. Some of the other students took notice, watching and whispering and wondering what was happening. "Let's continue this discussion in my office."

Jeremy didn't seem happy about the announcement, but Kwan ushered him toward his office while he kept an eye on Danny. They made it to his office with little interference. He wondered what the students watching them thought, especially with Danny looking like the walking dead at the moment. Danny kept rubbing at his head as if he was fighting off a massive headache. Once they were in his office, Kwan closed the door.

"I think we all need to have an open, honest discussion." Kwan folded his arms, standing in front of the door while Danny leaned against the desk. Jeremy stood awkwardly between them, fidgeting with nervous energy. "You're not in trouble," he told Jeremy gently, hoping to ease his worries. "But something serious is going on right now, and trying to cover it up is only going to make it worse. Someone could get seriously hurt."

"I don't know anything about what's happening!" Jeremy threw his arms up in the air. "I only recently noticed the energy haunting Mr. Fenton. I don't even know how to explain it." He bowed his head, rubbing his hands over his face. "Maybe I am going crazy. I've been working tons of hours trying to earn money to help out my family. Maybe it's because of that."

Kwan lowered his gaze, guilt gnawing at him. He never wanted to suspect Jeremy of being behind the ghostly robberies. Jeremy was always a good student. He never even skipped a day of classes! He studied hard to keep his grades up, though lately the long hours working paid a toll on that. Kwan's belief in Jeremy's innocence wavered slightly hearing him speak now. "Is it possible that maybe he's doing it without knowing?"

Danny lifted his head, lowering his hands from massaging his temples. His brow creased as he stared at Jeremy, but his gaze was unfocused, like perhaps he wasn't fully seeing the teenager standing in front of him. "Could be possible." His voice sounded hoarse like his throat was parched of all moisture. "But it still leaves the question of how he's doing it."

"Doing what?" Jeremy shrank back nervously. His gaze remained on Danny. Either he thought Danny was about to attack him or he feared Danny was about to keel over. Kwan thought perhaps it was the latter.

"We know you've been working a lot to help out your family." Kwan placed a hand on Jeremy's shoulder, relieved when his student didn't jerk away from him. "You wouldn't go to any, um, extreme measures to get the money, right?"

Hurt flashed in Jeremy's eyes, and the guilt punched Kwan in the gut. "What are you trying to ask?" Jeremy demanded, ripping his shoulder free as he glared coldly at Kwan. "Do you really think I would rob a place for money, Coach?" His voice grew louder, making Kwan wince. "If I were stealing, I wouldn't be working myself crazy trying to make money. Do you think my parents raised me to be someone who steals? I've never even cheated on a test! I work hard for everything."

Kwan held up his hands. "I know. I know! I just had to ask." He lowered his gaze, his shoulders sagging. "It's just there have been a string of robberies lately, and we're trying to uncover who's behind it. I didn't want to believe it was you, but it sounds like the person behind it is desperate for money to help out a sick girl."

"So naturally you assumed it was me?" Jeremy shouted, his fists clenching tightly at his sides.

"The only reason we thought of you was because you mentioned the whole thinking something was haunting me thing," Danny explained, and Kwan wrinkled his brow. Did he look fainter somehow? "I didn't think about it at the time because other things distracted my attention. But no one around here actually believes ghosts exists. But when I remembered it, the comment seemed suspicious."

"What?" Jeremy's mouth pursed as he glared at Danny. "Why does that matter?"

Danny sighed, or maybe it was more of a wheeze. "Because the robberies were done by ghosts."

"That's crazy! Ghosts don't exist." Jeremy shook his head. "I know I was saying some crazy stuff about something haunting you. Which is getting really bad, by the way. But _ghosts_?"

"It's true," Kwan said, drawing Jeremy's confused attention. "Back where we lived, ghosts were practically an everyday occurrence for us. Our high school was attacked so many times, I'm sometimes surprised we made it out of there." The corner his mouth twitched, but he pushed away his memories to focus on the now. "Danny's been dealing with ghosts for most of his life. He wants to take care of whatever's causing these ghosts to rob places as quickly as possible. It's better for everyone if people here don't start to realize ghosts exist."

"If people knew about ghosts," Danny said when Jeremy cast a worried glance his way, "it could cause panicking. That's why it's important if you know something, you tell us about it. We're not mad at you. We're just concerned that this could get out of hand and become dangerous."

"I don't know anything!" Jeremy's voice trembled. "I haven't done anything! I swear!"

"Okay." Kwan tried to calm him. "We believe you." He turned his gaze to Danny. "But now what? Could he be unconsciously doing it? Like his desire to help his family is influencing ghosts to rob places? But if it's not because of him, who could be the one behind- Danny!" Both Kwan and Jeremy jumped into action when Danny's legs buckled under him. They each grabbed hold of one arm to hold him up.

"I'm okay," Danny assured them, but Kwan didn't believe him.

"No, you're not!" Jeremy shouted in panic. "Whatever this darkness is that's haunting you practically has you in its grasp!"

"What- What exactly does that mean?" Kwan tried to stay calm, but he was panicking himself. What was he supposed to do in this situation? He didn't know how to help Danny!

"I- I don't know! I don't even really understand what's happening!" Jeremy lost his grip on Danny's arm, his hands passing right through the teacher's body. "Ah!" He stumbled back, slamming into the wall. His eyes widened as he pointed at Danny. "What is that?"

"Danny!" Kwan kept hold of his friend, but Danny's body felt insubstantial in his hands.

"I can't-" Danny's face twisted in pain. "Sorry."

Kwan's hands passed right through the arm he held. Then Danny was gone. A small wisp of smoke curled lazily in the air where Danny had stood a second before. The whole office stilled, like time froze the instant Danny vanished.

The spell lasted a mere few minutes, breaking when Jeremy shouted, "What the heck was that?" He pointed to where Danny used to be. "How did he just disappear? What the heck is going on?"

Jeremy's voice snapped Kwan out of his stunned silence. Panic set in as his eyes grew wide. His breath came in short gasps, and his heart beat too fast. "Danny! Oh god!" His hands grabbed fistfuls of his hair. "We _have_ to find him!" He closed the gap between him and his student and seized hold of Jeremy's shoulders. He must have seemed like a madman from the way Jeremy's face scrunched up and looked like he wanted to run away. But at the moment, Kwan didn't care what people thought of him. Finding Danny was far more important. "This is really important! He could be in serious trouble. Please!" he begged, squeezing his hands around Jeremy's shoulders. "If you know anything, please tell me. I _can't_ lose him."

The fear remained in his eyes, but it softened. Jeremy patted Kwan on the shoulder. "It's going to be okay. We can find him. But panicking won't help."

That slapped Kwan in the face. He was supposed to be the adult and remain calm and collected before his student. Instead, Jeremy was the one trying to keep _him_ from panicking. "Sorry." Kwan released his hold on Jeremy and stood up straighter. "I shouldn't have acted like that. It's just Danny-"

"He's someone special to you."

Heat crept onto his cheeks as Kwan fidgeted. "He's a good friend. But more importantly, he's in trouble and we need to help him. I know you don't understand everything about what's happening, but we don't have a lot of time for full explanations. Maybe this has nothing to do with your sister, but maybe it does. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary lately? Maybe one of your family members acting strange? I don't want to believe it has anything to do with your family, but I don't have any other leads right now." He could feel the panic rising in him again, like a tight knot squeezing in his chest. They were wasting time while who knew what was happening to Danny. He took a deep breath and tried to keep that feeling from affecting him.

"I don't know!" Jeremy's brow creased as he looked away. "My dad's been super busy trying to close a big deal for his company. If he gets it, he'll get a big pay raise. There's no way he'd do anything like steal money. He wouldn't even have the time. He barely had time to come to my game. My mom is the same way. Her hours are less, but when she's not working, she's making sure us and the house are fine or at the hospital to check in on my sister. My brother-" His eyes widened a fraction. Then he shook his head rapidly. "No, there's no way this is my brother's doing."

"You thought of something. What was it?"

Jeremy screwed his eyes shut like he could block out the truth as long as he couldn't see it. "He used to be a lot more outgoing, but when my sister had to go to the hospital and the bills caused stress for the family, he got quieter, more withdrawn. We tried not to talk too much about the financial situation in front him, but maybe he overheard it. He had to stay home from school today because he was sick. He- He didn't look too good when I left this morning. That's why I was going to ask if I could skip practice. I wanted to go home and check on him. My mom had to take the day off to watch him. I feel kind of guilty about it, even though I know I have no reason to."

"That may have nothing to do with this, but it's all we have right now." Kwan grabbed his coat then yanked open the door. "Let's go. I hope we're wrong, but I also fear being wrong."

"I hope Mr. Fenton will be all right." Jeremy followed after Kwan as they hurried out of his office then down the hall toward the exit of the school.


	34. Chapter 34

He felt numb, but not quite in the same way as when he turned intangible, which had more of a tingly sensation running through his whole body. It was such a strange experience the first time he used that ability. Now he barely even noticed it, growing so used to it over the years he nearly forgot how it first felt until now. This numbness, however, was like losing all feeling in his body, even the pins and needles sensation he got when his foot fell asleep. It was like he existed in a black void where everything lost all meaning. Who was he? What was he doing before now? It was easy to forget it all while drifting in this emptiness.

_No! I'm Danny Fenton!_

Light shot through the darkness, and he squinted against it, struggling to make out the blurry images before him. What was happening? Where was he? He grabbed at whatever memories he could, but everything was fragmented. He remembered- Thinking hurt, his head throbbing with the effort to piece together the flitting memories dancing through his mind like particles of dust in the sunlight. He was at the school, talking with Kwan, when he felt the first tug, which seemed more desperate than the prior tugs. Then they were in the office, and Jeremy was there. What were they doing? Danny only recalled bits of the conversation. Jeremy was angered at them for accusing him of something.

The ghost robberies! It came crashing back to him in an instant. They were trying to discover what involvement Jeremy had, or didn't have, in what was happening. Jeremy insisted he had nothing to do with it. Danny couldn't think of whom else could be behind the robberies. He couldn't overlook Jeremy's- What should he call it? Maybe Jeremy was a medium of some sort. Danny never encountered a medium before, and that was probably a good thing, especially if they were a normal person who could pick up on his ghost half.

"No!"

The whiny, nasally cry of outrage snapped Danny back to the present. He focused on his surroundings, and his gaze eventually landed on the young boy seated on the ground in front him. Said boy was currently coughing so badly Danny feared he would cough up a lung. Danny frowned, his eyes softening as he felt bad for the boy, his whole body shaking with each cough.

"Honey? Are you okay in there?" asked a woman from the other side of the closed door.

"I'm fine!" the boy answered quickly, wincing with a pained expression. "My throat felt a bit dry. But it's okay! I have some water."

"Okay." She sounded worried. "Just let me know if you need anything."

The boy waited, practically holding his breath, as he listened for his mother to walk away from his room. Danny took the quiet moment to observe the boy. He was sure they never met, but the boy looked vaguely familiar, like he resembled someone. His mouth pursed and his brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to pinpoint the familiarity in the boy. His gaze drifted, scanning the bedroom, as he pondered it.

"Ah!" Danny gasped out, startling the boy, who jumped nearly an inch from where he knelt on the floor. His gaze landed on a photograph sitting on the dresser by a closet door. In the photograph was the boy before him and a young girl he didn't recognize. But what jumped out about the picture to him was the teenager, who he immediately identified: Jeremy. He turned back to the boy, trying for a friendly smile. "Are you Jeremy's brother?"

The boy blinked in surprise then bowed his head shyly. "You know my brother?" His brow wrinkled as he breathed in deeply through his congested nose. "But you're a ghost!"

"It's, um," sweating, Danny scratched at his cheek, "complicated. But yes, I know your brother." He crouched down in front of the boy. "What is your name?"

The boy sneezed, and Danny jumped. "I'm Cameron." He wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

Danny's nose wrinkled at the unpleasant sight. "You shouldn't do that. You'll just spread your germs, and you might make the rest of your family sick too." He glanced around, and after spotting a box of tissues by the bed, he grabbed one. "You wouldn't want to get them sick, would you?" Danny handed over the tissue for Cameron to clean his hand then got a second tissue so Cameron could blow his nose. When that was done, Danny settled back into his crouch, folding his arms over his knees. "Now, why did you summon me here?"

Cameron fidgeted with his gaze practically glued to the floor.

"I'm not going to yell at you," Danny assured him in the most comforting tone he could manage. "But I'd like to understand the reason behind your actions, if possible."

After another minute of silence, Cameron spoke softly. "My sister is in the hospital, and my parents," he sniffled, "complain about the bills. We need the money to help my sister." He rubbed at his eyes with one hand. "I thought I could help them get the money they needed."

"By stealing it?" Danny frowned severely, and the boy flinched, guilt washing over his face.

"I didn't know what else to do!" Tears gathered in Cameron's eyes. "I can't work a job like my brother. This was the only way."

Danny breathed in deeply then released his breath slowly. It was a hard situation. Hospital fees could be costly and hurt families financially. He could understand and feel sympathy for Cameron's actions, but good intentions didn't make his actions right. "Cameron, what do you think your family would think if they learned you were stealing money?"

Cameron bowed his head. "They wouldn't like it."

"They'd be pretty disappointed, huh?" Danny watched Cameron nod. "It's good that you want to help your family. But this isn't the way to do it. You stand at a crossroads here, Cameron. If you continue down this road, you could start using 'good intentions' as an excuse to do more bad things. That kind of thinking only leads to a bad end." He knew from his own experiences with the future. "What if things went too far and you ended up in jail for doing something illegal? Your family wouldn't be very happy, would they?"

Cameron shook his head, sniffling even more.

"But, like I said, you're at a crossroads." Danny smiled softly. "You can turn around and choose a better path. But you have to promise not to steal money anymore. Okay?"

"I promise!" Cameron nodded several times. "I won't ever do it again!"

"Good." Danny patted him on the head, and Cameron grinned up at him, snot dribbling from his nose. "There's just one more little thing I need to know." He squinted his eyes as he squeezed his index finger and thumb together with barely a hint of space between them.

Maybe he would finally get all the answers now, yet finding a young boy not even in his teens as the one behind what was happening still baffled his mind. How could Cameron know how to control ghosts? Looking around the bedroom, Danny saw no evidence of anything resembling Freakshow's jewel. Was it some other item? But the room looked like the stereotypical messy bedroom of a boy. So far, Cameron hadn't held up anything to keep Danny under his control. What was the secret here?

"You've been calling ghosts to you and controlling them to steal money from various places. How are you doing that?"

Cameron chewed on his lip and refused to look at Danny. The way he shifted and fidgeted suggested he was afraid of getting into trouble if he told the truth. "Um, well, I was in the basement looking for something." He almost wiped his nose with his hand before remembering Danny's words. Instead he grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. "I thought something Lucy lost might be in one of the boxes down there, but I couldn't find it." He lowered his gaze in disappointment. "But I found this super old book, and I thought it looked neat. Like a magic book!" He scratched his head, frowning. "I didn't understand a lot of it. I read something from one of the pages out loud, and suddenly this person appeared in front of me. I was so scared! They looked weird. Sick or something. I could see through them. But they just floated there not doing anything. After a while, I told them to go away. And they did! That got me thinking. If I could summon this person again and they did what I told, maybe I could tell them to get me some money to help my family."

Danny turned over everything Cameron told him, trying to piece things together, but it felt like he was still missing a huge section for everything to make sense. "Can I see the book?"

Cameron sneezed hard into his tissue but nodded. After tossing the used tissue into a trash can by his bed, he crawled nearly all the way under his bed, sifting through the junk under it for the book. Danny remembered when he used to hide things from his parents under his bed. For him, though, it was mostly his comics, not weird old books that allowed him to summon and control ghosts. Thinking about what Cameron said, Danny felt a hint a familiarity, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. Had he heard something similar to what was described? He was distracted from his thoughts when Cameron finally wiggled free of his bed. His head popped back into view with his hair sticking up in every direction. Snot dribbled out of his nose again, and Danny grabbed him another tissue.

"Here it is." Cameron handed the book over then used the tissue to blow his nose.

The book looked ancient. The leather binding had tears and scuff marks. The pages were yellow with age, and Danny was almost nervous to try flipping through the book in case the pages tore at the merest touch. His eyes flicked over the pages as he carefully turned them. It started to sink in even at the quickest scan. Slowly, he lifted his gaze to Cameron, who was doing his best to completely clear his stuffy nose. Cameron had heavy bags under his eyes, and his body looked almost fragile. How long had he been sick?

"Cameron, do you understand what this book is?" Danny asked cautiously. From what he previously said, it sounded like Cameron was completely oblivious, but Danny wanted to make certain of it.

Cameron shrugged, scratching at his ear. His eyes drooped shut as he gave a big yawn. "Maybe Gramps was a wizard. I always thought there was something funny about him."

Danny held back a sigh. Cameron didn't know, about the book or the effects it had on him. "It-" Danny frowned, running a hand over the cover of the book with the faded gold swirls etched into the leather. "This isn't the kind of book you should be messing around with. What it deals with, it's very serious."

His knowledge of necromancy was poor. He assumed it was just something made up by Hollywood for lame movies. No one he ever met practiced necromancy, and none of the ghosts and other supernatural beings believed it was an actual thing. But with this book and Cameron's account of events, Danny wanted to kick himself for not putting the pieces together sooner. What else could the answer have been? Only Freakshow possessed any kind of artifact which allowed him control over ghosts, and it was destroyed. Necromancy was truly the only other explanation. If the situation wasn't so serious, he might have snorted at the fact that Vlad was clueless about it too. Vlad always liked to come off like he knew everything about everything, trying to make Danny feel stupid, small, and insignificant.

"I know you want to help- Cameron!"

Dropping the book, Danny launched forward to catch Cameron as his knees buckled under him. His pale face sent a shock of panic running through Danny. Cameron, of course, looked sick when he arrived, but clearly his symptoms were a lot more severe than Danny realized. Worse, perhaps, was the lightening sensation he felt the moment Cameron collapsed. He didn't even notice the heavy, crushing feeling until it was gone, like finally being freed of constricting shackles. At the same time, it was a heavy realization. He was summoned and under Cameron's control, even if they were merely having a simple conversation. After Cameron collapsed, that control ended, and Danny's stomach dropped with dread.

As he lay Cameron gently on his bed, a tingle of cold tickled at the back of his mind. Danny twisted sharply toward the window, his eyes widening a fraction when he spotted the cat sitting on the sill. Gritting his teeth, he shot to his feet. The cat flicked an ear then jumped down from the sill, disappearing out of sight. Danny wasn't going to let that cat get away. Not with Cameron's soul!

Danny tossed his gaze back to Cameron for one last quick check. Anyone that peeked into the room could easily assume he was simply sleeping. Danny hoped no one decided to check on him before he could return with the stolen soul. Turning invisible, he shot through the wall and chased after the fading sense of the ghost. He put his all into it, pushing himself to fly faster than ever before to catch up with the cat. A tail disappeared around a corner, and Danny followed. The portal stood open at the end of the alley. The cat vanished through it, and the portal shrank, closing behind the cat. Danny shot forward, putting in an extra burst of speed. He dove through it. The portal nearly closed around his legs, but somehow, he managed to be just fast enough. He rolled onto his knees and released his breath in relief.

It was short lived. Danny barely turned his head when something squeezed around his leg. He launched into the air, but he was quickly yanked back to the ground. His chin slammed into the hard ground. He winced, knowing that would leave a bruise for at least a few hours. Struggling only made things worse. Thick vines coiled around his body, pinning his legs together and his arms to his sides. Intangibility proved useless against the constricting vines.

"I knew it wouldn't be long before you showed yourself."

Danny lifted his gaze as Gertrude sighed. The cat he chased after sat curled around her shoulders, tail lazily flicking. Danny frowned at the icy glare she gave him. "I'm not here to fight you."

"Good. Because you wouldn't win."

A shiver ran down his spine. Danny did not like this side of Gertrude. He had no trouble believe she could steal the life right out of him if he angered her. "I came to talk," he explained, shifting awkwardly in the vines trapping him. "You can't-"

"Can't what? You think I like this part of my job?" The air around her grew chiller to match her frosty tone. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and Danny gulped nervously. "Do you think I like seeing children die before they have the chance to lead long, happy lives? I don't! But I also have no control when the threads of their lives are cut."

"I know, but-" Danny sighed, bowing his head. "Please don't take his soul. I- I think this is my fault. Well, partially. It may have happened regardless because he was messing with stuff he didn't understand. But he's a child. He didn't know any better. No one explained what any of it was. But I made it worse. If I had figured it out sooner, maybe I could have stopped it from getting to this point. But I kept fighting him when he tried to summon me, and that weakened him. I didn't know he was only a child." Danny cursed his own stupidity. "I thought the person behind these ghost involved robberies would be an adult. Please, Gertrude!" He raised his head, pleading desperately with his eyes. "Isn't there some way around this?"

"You're asking a lot of me." Gertrude's mouth pursed tightly, but warmth flooded back into the air, her anger dissipating.

"I know. I wouldn't ask, but I'd never live with the guilt." Danny hung his head in shame. "I also know a sob story isn't going to change your mind on anything. I just need to know if there's anything I can do to save him."

Gertrude remained silent for so long Danny feared she would tell him to leave without Cameron's soul. Then she released a long, suffering breath. "There might be something we can work out." She waved her hand, and the vines retreated from Danny's body.

"Really?" Danny sat up, rubbing at his throat. He hoped that wouldn't leave a bruise, as he would already have enough trouble explaining a bruise on his chin. Bruises around his throat like he was choked? He doubted he could wave that off as nothing, especially to his roommates. "What is it?"

"A spirit got away from one of my servants," Gertrude scratched at the cat's ears, "a while back. Right before they could be collected, the spirit just vanished. The spirit was ready to come here, but since then, we haven't been able to locate them. I believe this to be related to the child you want to save." She scratched under the cat's chin, and the cat's tail flicked happily at the attention. "I'll let you take the child's soul back if you promise to collect the spirit who got away. If my suspicions are correct, then this spirit is still tied to the child and needs to have that connection severed. Otherwise, the child will not survive long."

"That sounds a little too simple." Danny narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"For the great Danny Phantom, I'm sure it will be no problem." Gertrude smirked.

Danny didn't quite believe her, but he sighed in defeat. What choice did he have if he wanted to save Cameron? "Okay." He stood. "So what does this spirit look like?"

"Avery, if you wouldn't mind?" Gertrude asked the cat.

Avery opened one eye, staring at Danny as if to curse him for waking them up from their nap. They huffed before they hopped down from Gertrude's shoulders and landed lightly on their feet. Deep green mist swirled around them, rising up until it was a few inches shorter than Gertrude. When it faded away, the cat was replaced by a teen boy, perhaps not even eighteen yet. His dark curly hair hung over the left side of his head, the front bangs barely brushing over his thick rimmed glasses. His brown eyes nearly matched the deep brown of his skin. His clothing was casual, jeans and a T-shirt splashed with a band logo Danny didn't recognize under a leather bomber jacket. His right ear was studded with a few silver earrings. Danny didn't recognize him, but there were other schools in the district he could have attended.

"There's not a time limit, is there?" Danny wanted to be sure he was clear on all the details to avoid any misunderstandings.

"Before we enter the new year." Gertrude's tone was firm, suggesting she wouldn't be swayed on the deadline. It gave him roughly a month to hunt down the spirit and bring it to Gertrude. "Avery shall go with you." In another puff of mist, the cat returned to their original form. "When you've located and captured the spirit, they will bring you here to deliver him."

Danny stared down at the cat. "Well, I guess you're stuck with me then."

Avery stared back, unimpressed. Then with a sniff, they turned their head, lifting their chin into the air. Danny got the distinct feeling Avery didn't like him.

"They'll also take care of returning the boy's soul," Gertrude continued, ignoring the little exchange.

"Question." Danny raised a hand. "What happens if I fail?"

"I suggest not failing," Gertrude answered with no inflection in her voice, which left a hollow feeling in the pit of Danny's stomach. "Now go." She waved them off with a dismissive hand as a portal opened behind Danny. "I still have a number of other spirits to oversee on their passing."

Danny decided it was best not to push his luck. Good fortune already shined on him when Gertrude gave him a way to save Cameron's soul. He didn't want to say or do anything that might make her change her mind. Avery hopped up onto his shoulder, draping themselves there like a warm, furry scarf. Danny walked through the portal, which thankfully came out in the same spot, allowing him to backtrack to Cameron's house.


	35. Chapter 35

"I can't believe you broke things off with Celeste." Ms. Burke frowned, casting a grumpy glare at Dash as they walked down the hall.

"We-"

"I know!" She raised her hand in the air. "You weren't really a thing having only gone on the blind date on Halloween. Which I guess you could say wasn't even a true date." She rolled her eyes then sighed. "I just thought I had find a perfect match for you." Her mouth pursed in mild frustration. Then she slapped a hand to his shoulder, nearly making Dash stumble from the force. "What am I supposed to do with you?"

Dash kept his gaze lowered as he rubbed the back of his neck. After his talk with Kwan, he felt more comfortable about the whole liking men too thing. If he was bisexual, so be it! All that matter was his friends accepted him, and more importantly, he accepted himself. Despite that, he wasn't sure he was ready to blather the news to other people yet, especially not in a school setting where the conversation might be overheard. He glanced around, noting the multitude of students walking past them. He almost felt like even if he whispered it, everyone around them would hear him as if he shouted it.

"I just didn't think it was fair to her. And," Dash held up a hand before Ms. Burke could speak, "before you threaten me with bodily harm, I promise to try not to cause her any more emotional pain, though if Celeste would like, I wouldn't mind being friends. Also," the corner of his mouth curled in a tiny smirk, "someone already beat you to the whole angry threat rant."

Her eyebrow inched slightly upward. Ms. Burke huffed a sigh, perhaps in defeat. "Celeste has been spending a lot of time with her new friend."

"Ah, Hayley." Dash nodded. He figured that must be the case with the way she acted at Thanksgiving. It was still weird to think Fenton broke up with her. They had that picture perfect look to them, which Dash hated to admit made him a little jealous. They were like that sickeningly sweet couple who never fought. But maybe he also liked seeing them together because it kept Fenton off the table. Dash wouldn't need to worry about his own feelings because he didn't want to become the jerk who drove two people apart just because he liked one of them.

"You know Hayley?" Ms. Burke shot her gaze at him.

"Whoa!" Dash held up his hands. "She was dating Fenton. That's how I met her. We talked a bit at Halloween, and I guess Celeste met her again later when Fenton and Hayley had a date. And that's how they started being friends."

Ms. Burke narrowed her eyes a fraction, staring for a minute longer before she huffed, hunching her shoulders. "I guess I just feel like I'm losing Celeste a bit as a friend." She shook her head. "I'm just being silly. Celeste and I always talked about stuff, but now she has a new best friend."

"Not best friend. Just friend." Dash nudged her with his elbow. "You remember what it's like when you make a new friend. You just want to do everything together. But I'm sure she hasn't forgotten you. Maybe you could set up a meeting so the three of you can hang out sometime. Let you get to know Hayley a little. I think you'd get along with her."

"Hm." Ms. Burke considered. "Maybe. But you know," she poked him in the chest, "you keep calling him Fenton. I think you've known him long enough to start calling him Danny. I mean, you only knew me for a year-" She stopped, a look of realization dawning on her face. Then she snapped a glare at him. "You still thinking of me as Ms. Burke, don't you?"

"No." Dash looked away, which only made Ms. Burke glare harder. He sighed. "Okay. At work, you're Ms. Burke. When we're working out and stuff, then you're Mary."

"You really have a hard time calling people by their first name." Her mouth pressed thin. "Why is that?"

"I-" Dash scratched the side of his head. "I don't know." The likely culprit was his father. He wasn't trying to blame all his faults on his father, but he knew he definitely didn't pick up that particular trait from his mother. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but he used to mean it as an insult, sneering the person's last name like they weren't even good enough to be referred to by their first name. Now it was merely an old habit he didn't even think about anymore.

"You owe me twenty bucks."

Dash frowned when he saw a student shoving another student up against the lockers. The student was taller, built like he would make a decent football player, but Dash was certain the fifteen year old never tried out for the team. His buzzed black hair was barely even peach fuzz, but the lack of hair made his ears look big, sticking out at the sides of his head. The female student shoved against the lockers was at least three inches shorter than he was. She nervously pushed up the yellow framed glasses which slipped down the bridge of her nose. Her dyed auburn hair fell in subtle waves, framing her face. Her dark brown skin was broken up by patches of lighter colored skin.

"We all agreed. Without a photo, it doesn't count," the woman explained, and her jaw set firmly like nothing the man said could sway her stance.

Dash didn't know exactly what they were talking about, though it wasn't the first time he thought he was overhearing talk of betting, of some sort. But he did know this might be the best chance he had to find out what was happening with the students, if he didn't scare them off before he could get answers. He walked toward the pair of students, completely oblivious to the presence of teachers or perhaps they wouldn't being talking about possibly inappropriate for school transactions right in the hall. Ms. Burke kept in stride beside him, looking no happier about what they were potentially witnessing.

"Is there a problem here?" Dash asked when they reached the students.

The man stepped back, putting plenty of distance between him and the woman. He bowed his head sheepishly, rubbing a hand over the back of his head. If he was trying to avoid looking suspicious, he was doing a rather poor job of it.

"It's nothing, Sir," the woman answered, managing to do a far better job of seeming innocent.

"What was this about an exchange of money?" Ms. Burke asked, folding her arms. She could be intimidating when she wanted to, evidenced by the way the students gulped nervously.

"Oh, that." The woman waved off the question with a small, forced, laugh. "That's nothing to worry about. Just a little disagreement is all. We certainly don't need to waste your time to work it out." She shot a fake smile to the man, who immediately nodded his agreement. Obviously, they didn't want their teachers to know, which only added more suspicion to the situation.

"Sounds to me like you could use our help," Dash said, his gaze passing between the two students. "Perhaps if you explained the situation to us, we could better help you settle the matter."

"No, no!" the man argued, shaking his head as he waved his hands before him. "That's not necessary. At all. We can talk this out on our own."

With the way they acted, they might as well wear a giant neon sign that said: We're up to no good. Dash eyed them both, pondering over the best way to break one of them to get the information. The man seemed like the easiest since the woman played things off with a far cooler head.

Two bodies charged down the hall. Dash turned away from the conversation to yell at them not to run in the hall. But when he saw who they were, he jolted. Kwan? Why was Kwan racing down the hall? He wouldn't be in such a rush if it wasn't important.

"Uh, can you deal with this?" Dash asked with a wince.

Ms. Burke nodded, confusion splashing across her face.

Thankful for that, Dash jogged down the hall, following after his friend. "Hey!" He pushed his way through a group of students. "Kwan! Wait up!" He managed to catch up to his friend near the front exit. He grabbed hold of Kwan's hand, forcing him to stop, not an easy task sometimes when Kwan was in an all out run.

"Dash!" Kwan spun around, a bit breathless. The surprise on his face couldn't hide the panic, which only served to make Dash worry. Behind him, Jeremy stopped with his hand on the door and looked back to them.

"What's going on?" Dash asked, not letting go of Kwan. "Where are you going?"

"No time to explain." The words rushed out of Kwan's mouth in rapid urgency. "Danny could be in danger." He turned to leave, but Dash yanked him back toward him.

"What do you mean? What happened to Fenton?"

"We were talking then he just vanished. Look." Kwan stared seriously into Dash's eyes. It was a look that screamed, "Don't you dare try to stop me," which gave Dash pause. "I have to follow this lead and see if I can find him before something bad happens."

"I'm going with you." Dash stepped to pass his friend on the way to the door.

"Wait!" Kwan placed a hand on Dash's chest to stop him. His eyes widened as some realization struck him. "All three of us can't just disappear. We have classes! You have to stay and make sure someone takes over our classes. And someone's going to have to supervise the baseball team if I don't make it back in time. Dash, you need to stay and do this." Dash opened his mouth to argue, but Kwan silenced him with a hard look. "We don't have time for arguments. You're staying here because we can't just run out and leave all three of our classes without a teacher and no explanation. That looks bad for _all_ of us."

Dash gritted his teeth. Sometimes he hated when Kwan played the smart card. He knew his friend was right. But he was worried too! What was he supposed to do after hearing that Fenton simply vanished? They both watched Fenton turn invisible before them, but this was obviously not a simple show of ability as Phantom. Kwan wouldn't be so panicked if Fenton was merely showing off his ghost powers.

His fists clenched tightly at his sides until his knuckles ached. "Fine," Dash muttered. Though he wasn't happy with this arrangement, he understood the necessity. Life felt so much easier as a teenager when they didn't have to worry about these adult responsibilities. "Just make sure you all come back safely."

The corner of Kwan's mouth twitched then he raised his arm. "It's a promise."

Dash knocked his fist against Kwan's to seal the promise. He stood and watched as Kwan hurried Jeremy out of the building. The door closing echoed in his ears, and Dash hoped he wasn't making a mistake letting Kwan go alone. Kwan preferred peaceful methods of resolving conflict, but he knew how to fight if it became necessary. If Fenton was under someone's control, however, Dash worried Kwan could end up seriously hurt. What if they both got hurt? Dash wanted to scream his frustration! Kwan _knew_ his friend didn't do well when forced to sit on the sidelines. All Dash could do now was follow Kwan's directions. Turning on his heel, he headed at a fast pace through the halls toward the teachers' lounge.

Dash entered the room and closed the door behind him with just enough force to cause a mild bang and grab the other teachers' attention. "Listen up!" he said once all eyes were on him. "There was an emergency, and Kwan and Fenton had rush off to deal with it. They need someone to take over their classes. Who has open periods for the rest of the day?" His mouth thinned when no one immediately spoke up. "I have a free spot for my second to last period, so I can take over one class then. But the rest of the periods will need other people to cover them. You don't have to worry about following a lesson plan. You can just have them use the time as a free study period."

A few hands lifted. Dash relaxed slightly, some tension unraveling, but in the back of his mind, he couldn't stop worrying about what was happening with Kwan and Fenton. Pushing the worry back, he focused on organizing who would be taking over which classes. Somehow, they had just enough teachers, with himself included, to fill in the periods.

His mind was distracted as he taught his own class. Dash tried to stay focused, but his thoughts kept straying. Where were they right now? What happened to Fenton? Would they be all right? Should he have said screw it and charged after Kwan to help out in whatever way he could? Scenarios played out in his mind, none of them ending nicely. By the time the bell rang, Dash felt a little sick and wished the school day was already done. When he reached Fenton's class, his only relief was in knowing he merely needed to watch the students and not worry about any sort of lesson plan.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Baxter?"

Dash glanced around the classroom when he entered to see whom spoke, but all the students stared at him with surprised looks.

"Didn't you hear?" said one student as he reached across the aisle to nudge the woman next to him on the arm. "Apparently, Mr. Long and Mr. Fenton didn't show up for their last period classes." The comment stirred up whispers around the room, all the students eager to gossip about this news.

Dash pinched the bridge of his nose as he walked over to the teacher's desk. He didn't even want to think about the rumor mill these teenagers would spin about this. "Something important came up. So for today, you'll have a free study period."

"Like that doesn't sound suspicious," muttered someone toward the front of the class.

"It happens sometimes," Dash grumbled, more to himself than to the class. "Now, how about you all take out your books and study? This is a great opportunity to-"

"Mr. Baxter!" A girl wearing a pink flower in her hair shot her hand into the air.

"Uh, yes?" Dash frowned, thinking he should probably search Fenton's desk for a seating chart so he could at least name the students.

"You've known Mr. Long and Mr. Fenton for a long time, right?" she asked, and all eyes were on him. Each student watched him, waiting for the answer like he was about to recount the most exciting heroic adventure of which they ever heard.

"Yes." Dash sighed as he leaned against the front of the teacher's desk. "We grew up in the same town and went to school together."

"What were you like back then?" asked a boy toward the back of the room.

Dash shrugged. "I was a jock. Star quarterback." He smirked a little, pride making his chest swell, but he wasn't proud of all his actions back then. "Kwan was a linebacker. Best on the team. He could hit like a truck."

"And Mr. Fenton?" someone else piped up.

"Uh," Dash rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck, "you know, it's probably time you all get to studying."

"Please?" the whole class begged at once.

Dash winced, doubting the students would drop the question no matter how much he tried to steer the topic away from it. "Fenton was a scrawny little kid, so we didn't really hang out in the same circle."

"Mr. Fenton? Scrawny? No way!" A girl with long silky black hair shook her head. "Mr. Fenton's like a major hunk. How could have been some little skinny kid?"

Dash almost choked. "I," he coughed, "was pretty surprised when we met up again too. I almost didn't recognize him. I thought he would still be a dweeby string bean." A few of the students chuckled, but several still looked unconvinced. "I have pictures if you don't believe me. Well, not here with me. Back at my apartment. I have a yearbook of ours."

"Bring it!" someone shouted.

_Crap. This isn't how this was supposed to go_. Dash frowned as he raked a hand through his hair. But all the questions were keeping his mind off whatever might be happening with Kwan and Fenton. "I should probably leave that up to Fenton. He may not like me spoiling his image." Though he managed a teasing tone when he said it, his thoughts slipped back to worry and fear, which stuck in his throat like a clump of tar. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as he prayed for both his roommates' safety.


	36. Chapter 36

Kwan chewed on his thumbnail. After all these years, he thought he grew past the nervous habit, but when his worry and fear twisted around inside him, squeezing painfully in his chest, he fell right back on it. Was Danny okay? Would they be too late when they arrived? Was Jeremy's brother even the one behind all those ghost robberies? Kwan still couldn't reason out how it was possible. Jeremy had the ability to see _something_ attached to Danny, who was insistent it wasn't a possession. What was that about? Kwan felt a pounding in his head as he tried to piece together what exactly was happening with the little information he had on the subject.

Dash's face floated into his mind. Kwan bit harder on his nail, knowing his friend would want to have words with them after this was all said and done. Dash wasn't the kind of person who liked to be left behind when something was happening. He wanted to be there, doing whatever he could to help with the situation. Despite all his worries about becoming someone like his father, Dash was a far different person than he realized. His father was a selfish man with a narrow mind. Dash grew into a kind and generous man, who might still have a temper but did his best to keep it in check. He would sacrifice his own safety to protect people where his father would do harm to people, even the ones he claimed to love.

Kwan shook the thoughts from his head. Now was not the time to focus on the reasons he fell in love with his best friend. He needed to think of what to do when they found Danny. How was going to break whatever spell might be on Danny? If someone was controlling him, Danny could easily dispatch the both of them without breaking a sweat. With a sick sensation churning inside him, Kwan realized this wasn't a well thought out rescue mission, but it was too late to turn back now. It would only waste time. Maybe he should talk to Danny about making some kind of ghost weapon he could easily carry around for situations like this.

The wheels of the car screeched against the asphalt. Jeremy parked the car in front of a white sided, two-story house. It was the sort of place people might picture when they thought about starting a family with someone. Jeremy yanked the key from the ignition and was out of the car in a flash. Kwan scrambled to follow, fumbling with the seatbelt for a minute before freeing himself. Jeremy was already at the front door, unlocking it, by the time Kwan caught up to him. What would they find beyond the door? Did he hope for them to be right? Or did he pray they were wrong?

"My word! What is going on?"

"No time to explain, Mom!" Jeremy rushed past the woman who came out of the kitchen when they barged into the house. He raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

"My apologies!" Kwan bowed his head as he passed Jeremy's mother. How were they going to explain all of this afterward? He pushed that problem aside until they got to it. As he followed Jeremy up the stairs, he heard the woman's footfalls behind him. Jeremy's mother couldn't simply ignore her son and his teacher storming into the house. Why did this have to become even more complicated?

"Cameron!" Jeremy's shout came from a room down the hall.

Kwan charged toward the source, barging into the room and stopping short. Jeremy's mother bumped into his back after his sudden stop. Jeremy knelt beside the bed, shaking the boy laying there. He lifted his head with tears in his eyes when he looked to Kwan.

"He's not waking up!" Jeremy shouted desperately. "And I can't find a pulse! I don't think he's breathing!"

Jeremy's mother shoved past Kwan. She rushed over to the bed, drawing her youngest son into her arms. "Cameron?" she said frantically. "Cameron, honey, please wake up!" She supported his head as she rested her ear against his chest. "I can't hear a heartbeat. I don't understand! I checked on him just a little while ago."

Kwan raked a hand through his hair, his eyes darting around the room. He saw nothing to indicate Danny's presence or that Danny was ever here. Did they have everything wrong after all? But then what was the explanation behind what was happening to Jeremy's brother? What was he supposed to do? He thought once they got to the house, he would be able to figure out what to do next, but he was absolutely clueless. He was an utter failure and let everyone down. He tugged at his hair, his heart drumming so loudly it was hard to focus on anything but the rapid beats. His chest tightened, and each breath felt like it had to be squeezed out of him.

With an angry shout, Jeremy launched to his feet. He fisted his hands into Kwan's shirt then shoved his coach back into the wall. His eyes burned with fury, which only made Kwan feel worse about the whole situation.

"This all Mr. Fenton's fault!" Jeremy shouted. "Why did it have to be my brother? Why couldn't he just leave my family out of whatever crap he's into?"

"Jeremy," Kwan tried to calm his student, placing his hands over Jeremy's fists, "Danny wasn't the cause of what happened. He was trying to prevent anything bad from happening." Anger still shone in Jeremy's eyes as tears gathered and threatened to spill over. Kwan's heart ached for him. This, whatever happened, wasn't fair. Jeremy's family already suffered enough with his sister in the hospital. They didn't need more tragedy by losing a son and brother.

"Oh, uh, this is awkward."

They turned as Danny entered the bedroom through the wall. Danny gave them a sheepish look, rubbing the back of his neck, which earned him an annoyed grumbling from the cat on his shoulder.

"What is going on?" Jeremy's mother shouted as she clutched her son's body to her chest. Tears streamed down her face.

Kwan stepped around Jeremy then closed the distance between him and Danny. They stood before each other for a beat of silence. Kwan punched him on the shoulder without the cat. Then, before Danny could utter so much as an "Ow," Kwan dragged him into a hug.

"I swear if you ever make me worry like that again-"

"Sorry, sorry," Danny mumbled into Kwan's shoulder as he patted his friend on the back. "I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"What about my brother?" Jeremy shouted, and the two teachers pulled apart. Kwan could yell at Danny later. Right now, Jeremy's brother was far more important.

"What exactly happened?"

"Right. Um. Avery, you should probably do your thing first," Danny said. The cat huffed but hopped down from his shoulder. "You should lay Cameron on the bed."

"Not until I get some answers," Jeremy's mother argued with a dark scowl. "What is that cat doing?" She tried to shoo it away with her foot.

"Okay. Short story time." Danny wiped at his brow. "Cameron wanted desperately to help out with the money situation. He got into something way over his head, and it weakened him to the point of killing him. I got his soul back." He pointed to the cat, which grumpily stared at the woman as their tail twitched back and forth. "Avery, the cat, has it and will return it to revive your son."

"Please trust him," Kwan added when Jeremy's mother looked hesitant. "I know it sounds like a crazy story, but Danny wouldn't lie about this." If it weren't for growing up in Amity Park, he doubted he would believe the story anymore than Jeremy and his mother did.

"Mom, if he can revive Cameron, we should at least let him try," Jeremy said softly but then shot a glare at Danny, almost like a threat.

Jeremy's mother sighed, her whole body drooping with exhaustion. Then she stood and carefully laid her son on the bed. Once she stepped back, the cat jumped onto the bed. Avery climbed onto the boy's chest and leaned down until the ball on their collar dipped into Cameron's body. After a minute of soft shimmering glowing, the cat jumped down from the bed. Cameron's face scrunched up. Then he sneezed so violent his body jerked upright from the force of it.

"Ugh, I need a tissue," Cameron groaned, groping with a hand in search of the tissue box. His mother collapsed to her knees like all the strength left her the moment she saw her son was alive. She drew him into a tight hug, which earned a whine from Cameron. "Mom! I'm all icky!"

Relief flitted across Jeremy's face, but he quickly snapped a furious glare onto Danny. "I think we deserve a good explanation about what just happened and why my brother nearly lost his life because of you." He pointed a finger and probably would have jabbed it into Danny's chest of they were standing close enough to each other.

Danny held up his hands. "I won't say I'm completely without fault in this, but not all the blame falls on me."

"I don't want to hear excuses! You tried to blame me for robbing places, and now you want to shove all the blame onto my brother!"

"But it is my fault," Cameron said in a small voice.

"What are you trying to say, sweetie?" His mother brushed his hair back out of his face, perhaps also subtly trying to feel her son's forehead to check his temperature. His nose was a bit snotty, but he pulled a tissue from the box his mother handed him. He blew his nose noisily.

"I found a book in the basement. I thought it was like in those magic stories." Cameron hung his head. "I read from it and these ghosts would appear in front of me. I could tell them what to do. Since we needed money, I thought I could use them to get some. I just wanted to help."

"Oh, sweetheart!" His mother frowned, tucking a lock of his hair behind his ear. "That was never meant to be a burden for you to deal with."

Some of the anger deflated from Jeremy, his fists unclenching at his sides. "I don't understand any of this. How could he do something like that? Because of some dumb book?"

"I'm a bit confused myself," Kwan admitted, scratching at his head. Cameron was merely a child. How could a book give him the ability to summon and control ghosts?

Danny bent down and picked up a book from the floor near the bed. "This isn't just some dumb book."

"I recognize that!" Their mother stood up and took the book from Danny's hands. "I inherited it from my dad, but, well, I didn't think much of it - I didn't even really bother looking through it - so I just dumped it in the basement with the box of his things. I guess I have some trouble letting things go because even though I thought it was worthless, I couldn't bring myself to sell his stuff." She ran her hand over the cover of the book with a fond look.

"So what exactly is that?" Kwan pointed at the book.

"It's a book on necromancy," Danny explained simply.

"What?" the others shouted, and Jeremy's mother dropped the book with a gasp and a look of horror. The book landed with a heavy thump on the floor. Cameron chewed quietly on his lower lip, shifting uncomfortably on his bed.

"I guess I should have expected that," Danny murmured with a sigh. "I didn't really get to read everything in there, but the main point is you obviously had some necromancers in your family. This book is their documentation of their spells and rituals, probably even historical accounts. It explains why you," he landed his gaze on Jeremy, "were able to see something around me. Ever since that first pull I felt, I kept having to battle that feeling. Today I was finally too exhausted to fight it, which is why Cameron was able to summon me here."

"Why were you going after Danny so much?" Kwan asked Cameron.

"Uh, why exactly was he able to summon Mr. Fenton at all?" Jeremy asked, his hand slightly raised like he was waiting for a teacher to call on him in class. "If necromancy involves controlling ghosts, then Mr. Fenton shouldn't be affected by it."

"I didn't know who he was!" Cameron answered, tears gathering in his eyes. "I just wanted the ghost that kept stopping me before. If I had him under control, he wouldn't be able to stop me again, and I could get the money for my family."

Kwan winced at that response, but he could see the sense of it. He glanced at Danny, worrying about how his friend would answer Jeremy's question.

"After what you saw, I doubt anything but the truth will satisfy you." Danny rubbed at his eyes. "I'm half ghost. It's a whole long story. It's probably because I'm still half human that allowed me to fight off being summoned. You can't tell anyone about this."

"I'm supposed to believe that story?" Jeremy folded his arms, glaring with disbelief in his eyes.

Danny sighed tiredly, and in the next second, he vanished from sight. "Is this proof enough for you?"

Jeremy caught his mother when she fainted. "Um," his face was a little pale, "y-yeah, I think I believe you now." He swallowed thickly as Danny reappeared to them.

"That was awesome!" Cameron grinned from his bed.

"So, um," Jeremy helped his mother onto his brother's bed, "what exactly does this mean? Am I going to be dealing with ghosts now?" From his still paling complexion, Kwan guessed Jeremy wasn't thrilled with that idea.

"I don't think your mother knew anything about this, so I think you can live a normal life without this whole necromancy thing interfering." Danny scooped up the book again. "It might be worth it to give this a read though. So next time you notice any unusual auras around people, you have some understanding of what it is."

Jeremy eyed the book hesitantly. "I don't know. A book on controlling ghosts doesn't exactly seem like something I want anything to do with."

"Well, it still might be good to keep it." Danny's gaze darted to Cameron. "Though probably out of your brother's reach. He's too young to fully understand the consequences of dabbling with something like this." Danny's gaze turned into a stern stare when Cameron opened his mouth to pipe up. "You nearly died because you didn't understand what you were doing and it weakened you to a very dangerous point. You're lucky I was able to get your soul back to revive you. And you're not out of the clear yet. I still have to find that spirit you summoned the first time."

"Oh!" Cameron's hand shot into the air. "I can-"

"Don't you even think about it!" His mother grabbed hold of Cameron's ear. "I appreciate that you had the family in mind with all of this. But you are grounded for a month."

"A month!" Cameron groaned.

"You're lucky it's only a month," Jeremy said. "You scared the sh- life out of us. We thought we lost you forever. You," he pointed a finger at his brother, "aren't going to mess around with this stuff anymore."

Cameron pouted. "I just wanted to help. I can't exactly get a job like you."

His mother sighed, pulling Cameron into a tight hug. "And I love that both of you want to help out so much. But," she lifted Cameron's head, "you do understand that stealing is wrong, right?"

Cameron nodded. "I promise I won't do it again."

"Good." She kissed him on top of the head. "But I'll be taking the book." She held out her hand for it. "I don't want either of you messing with this kind of stuff. I'd prefer to say not at all, but I can't stop you once you're an adult." Her mouth pursed distastefully at the book. "I just hope that by then you're both mature enough not to misuse anything written in this."

"And I think it's probably time for us to go," Danny whispered to Kwan. "I think their mother can handle the rest of this."

Kwan nodded. "And school isn't out yet."

Danny winced. "Oh no! I forgot! I haven't had to deal with ghosts during school hours in ages. What are we supposed to do? We just left without any explanation."

"It's okay." Kwan placed his hands on Danny's shoulders, trying to calm him. "I had Dash take care of covering our classes for us."

"Oh." Danny breathed out in relief. "So that's why he didn't come too."

"Yeah," Kwan cringed, "I think we can expect him to be angry with us."

"Um, Mr. Fenton." Jeremy stepped up to them, his head bowed slightly. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

Danny shook his head. "I should have figured this out sooner. I'm sorry that I didn't."

Jeremy opened his mouth, hesitated, then ran a hand through his hair. "Thanks. For saving my brother."

"I'm just happy I could help." Danny patted a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "You should stay here and take care of your brother."

"How exactly will we get back to school?" Kwan asked hesitantly. Danny was summoned to the house magically, and Jeremy was the one who drove. Without a car- Oh no.

Danny grinned, his eyes glowing bright green as the cat hopped onto his shoulders. "Flying, of course."

"Oh." Kwan's stomach dropped at the answer. He didn't get a chance to protest before Danny grabbed him under the arms. Phasing through the wall was a strange feeling, leaving his body tingling. He clamped his eyes shut, praying it would be a short flight back to school.


	37. Chapter 37

"I owe you big," Danny said, sighing as his body sagged into the couch. After the day he had, he was exhausted and wanted to relax for the rest of the night. He rubbed at his aching shoulder. Dash managed to punch him exactly where Kwan had, only Dash put a lot more strength into his punch. His roommate was _not_ happy about the whole ordeal. If that wasn't enough stress for him, Danny still had another task about which to worry. Gertrude gave him only until the end of December to locate the missing spirit. The task sounded simple, but Danny knew how difficult it could be to locate a spirit that didn't want to be found.

"I still want some answers." Dash stood in front of him with his arms folded as he glared at Danny. The cat weaved their way between his legs, nuzzling their head against Dash's shins.

Danny frowned as he watched Avery. "I don't get it. Why does Avery love you so much but practically bites my hand if I try to pet them?"

"Dash has always been pretty good with animals." Kwan walked back over and handed Danny a cold beer from the refrigerator. Danny accepted it with a thanks of gratitude.

"Don't you dare start ignoring me," Dash growled, and both his roommates winced. "You don't get to race out of school with some vague comment about Fenton vanishing and leave me to deal with covering classes and then act like nothing even happened. You," he pointed at Kwan, who shrank back, "made it sound like he was being tortured or worse. But he looks perfectly fine to me."

"Dash," Kwan cautiously stepped toward his friend, his hands up like he was approaching a wild animal, "I was panicking because I didn't know what happened when Danny disappeared. I may have overreacted, but I had no way of knowing what really happened to him at the time. I'm sorry I made you worry about it. And we really appreciate that you made sure our classes were covered while we were gone."

"Right now, I just want some answers." Dash glared hard, and Danny was a little surprised to see it directed at Kwan. "Just explain to me what happened."

Danny took a sip of his beer. Normally, he didn't like to drink too much on a weekday when he had classes to teach the next day, but today wasn't exactly a normal day, even for him. Then he leaned forward to set him beer on the table. "So this is what happened." He recounted the tale of his experience after he disappeared from Kwan's office. He tried to keep it short, hitting the important points without dragging the story too long. "For now Cameron's fine, but if I don't get this spirit back in time, that might change." He frowned, lowering his gaze. It was a heavy weight pressing down on him. If he failed, his effort to save Cameron would mean nothing. He couldn't fail. He couldn't let Jeremy's family suffer the loss of a family member when he had the power to save Cameron.

"He's doing it again," Dash grumbled.

Danny lifted his head. His brow creased as he glanced between his roommates.

"You're acting like this is all on you," Dash explained with a roll of his eyes. "I know you've done this superhero thing for a long time now, but we," he gestured to Kwan and himself, "can help you if you let us."

"You don't know anything about fighting ghosts." Danny knew it was a lame excuse. He used it with Tucker and Sam when he first got his powers, but they wouldn't hear it. They would charge into a fight with him, despite how much he wanted to protect them from danger.

"Train us," Kwan suggested with a small hunch of his shoulders. "We can carry small weapons, easy to conceal ones, for protection. You can teach us how to use them."

"I don't think-" Danny sighed when he saw the looks on his roommates' faces. "You're not going to drop this, are you?"

"If we're going to be living together, I think it's important that we learn how to defend ourselves," Kwan said.

"What if some ghost comes here looking to fight you?" Dash asked, anger tingeing the seriousness of his question. "It might not just go away because we tell it you're not here. We should know how to defend ourselves in that case."

When Dash started talking sense, it got a bit scary. Danny sighed. "Okay. This is for defense. I don't want either of you trying to take on something too strong for you. And I know you're physically strong." He rolled his eyes when Dash tried to argue. "But we're talking about ghosts and other things that will easily overpower you with something _other_ than physical strength. Being able to punch something really hard doesn't matter if you can't touch it or if they can magically conjure a wall in front of you."

Dash's mouth pursed, and his nose scrunched in clear displeasure. "I get your point. But that's why you should train us to know how to handle these things."

"Yeah, I get it. I dragged you into this craziness the moment I agreed to be your roommate." Danny grabbed his beer and took another gulp. At that point in time, he never imagined things progressing as they had. He never thought he would tell them his biggest secret. But after today, he was glad he did it. Kwan might still have panicked, but at least he was better prepared for seeing Danny vanish right in front of him than if he was completely in the dark about Danny's ghost powers. "Kwan and I are already working on a ghost shield for the school. It shouldn't be too hard to come up with a few ideas for some weapons you can carry around. I probably have some specter deflectors we can modify. Don't give me that look! My parents named their inventions." Both of his roommates wore skeptical looks after hearing the name of the belt his parents created.

"You two can do your nerd thing," Dash said, waving off the annoyed glare Kwan shot him. "When do we get to the fighting?"

"Definitely not tonight." Danny shook his head. "I'm too exhausted today, and I want to make sure I have everything ready for class tomorrow after my little vanishing act. The weekend would probably be the best time to do some training."

The answer didn't seem to please Dash, but Danny wasn't surprised. Dash always struck him more as a man of action who wanted to jump immediately into the fray without thought. He clearly wasn't pleased to be the one left behind after Cameron summoned Danny in the middle of the school day. But Danny knew Dash wasn't a complete meathead, like he once thought back in high school. It wasn't some blind savage desire to attack driving Dash here. He wanted to learn defensive moves, ways to protect himself and probably others. Danny could relate because it was the desire to protect that drove him to act as Phantom. He caught himself before the bottle of beer phased through his hands, a blush threatening to bloom across his cheeks.

"I guess that makes the most sense," Dash grumbled, slightly defeated, as Kwan patted his shoulder. "By the way, what's the deal with this cat?" He pointed down to the cat now curled up between his legs.

"That's Avery. Once we track down this spirit, they'll open the portal back to Gertrude's lair," Danny explained as he stood. "Until then, we're sort of stuck with them. At least Avery likes someone."

"They... aren't dangerous at all?"

Danny shook his head. "As long as you don't do anything to mistreat them, Avery will probably act like just a regular cat. Except for the occasional disappearing or walking through objects." His mouth twitched as he tried to hold back a chuckle. "You should be happy we didn't get stuck with Cujo. I love him, but he can be quite a handful and might wreck the place a bit." From the expression Dash gave him, Danny suspected he was also glad they weren't dog watching the hyperactive puppy ghost.

The spirit, unfortunately, wasn't easily found. Danny hoped he would be able to locate the ghost and return it to Gertrude quickly. Then he could put the whole thing behind him and relax without a deadline looming over him. While he did have a few run ins with ghosts on his patrol, they were mostly quiet ghosts merely haunting whatever location meant something important to them. He questioned them about the spirit he was seeking, but they could give him no information. Despite his disappointment, he was happy to see the ghosts residing in town seemed peaceful, unlike the hostile ghosts that tended to show up in Amity Park via the Ghost Portal. By the weekend, he was no closer to finding the spirit for Gertrude.

"Uh, Mr. Fenton." Jeremy stopped him in the hall after what happened with his brother. "Um, I just wanted-"

"Sorry." Danny lowered his gaze. "I haven't been able to find him yet. Has Cameron doing?"

"Oh." Jeremy deflated. "Well, he seems better. A little lethargic still, but he doesn't sound quite like, uh, well, death." He winced at his choice of wording.

"I promise you I'm doing everything in my power to find that spirit."

"I know! I trust that you are." Jeremy sighed. "I'm just worried about my brother. He acts like this is nothing, but I think on some level he realizes how serious this all is. He keeps asking our mom to let him use the book to locate the ghost for you, but she's keeping it locked up tight until she thinks we're mature enough to use it responsibly."

"That's wise of her. A book like that can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Or hands of someone who doesn't know better as we've learned."

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, Cameron still has a lot of growing to do before he's ready for that book."

Danny was relieved to hear how Jeremy's mother was handling the situation. There was no guide book for what to do for something like that, but she was doing her best to keep her children safe. "So no," he waved a hand at the side of his head, "more dark aura or anything?"

Jeremy squinted then shook his head. "I don't see that same dark aura. Which was super creepy." He shuddered. "There's still a little," his mouth pursed in thought, "glow or something around you. It's faint. I have to really look to see it. And it's light, not dark like before. I guess maybe you're, uh," he lowered his voice, "ghostly aura sort of bleeds through but not enough to notice if you don't know to look."

Danny sighed, relieved to hear he didn't radiate some giant sign of being half ghost. "How are you dealing with this all?"

"It's a lot to take in." Jeremy rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. "But I'm talking with my parents about it, and they're helping, though my mom never really experienced anything like this. I guess my grandpa managed to keep it a secret from her. Maybe he just didn't want her getting involved with all of this or something."

"If you need anyone else to talk to, you're welcomed to come to me. Necromancy, though, is something completely new to me." Danny didn't know if he would be an immense help, but he planned to do his best. He knew what it was like to suddenly have abilities he didn't fully understand, and having people to confide in about those powers helped him get through it.

"Thanks, Mr. Fenton. I think I have things under control for now." Jeremy smiled then bit his lip with a nervous look. "But I'm not going to be running into ghosts everyday now, am I?"

"I think you should be all right. Just don't go out looking to fight them, and I think they'll ignore you."

Jeremy looked relieved at that answer. "I should probably get to class," he said, wincing as the bell rang. They parted ways, each needing to get to their next class before they were late.

Jeremy didn't seek him out for help, which Danny took to be a good sign. Danny knew it was entirely possible Jeremy was lying and things weren't fine. After all, he lied through most of high school before getting his act together to balance school and ghost hunting. But Jeremy's mood seemed to improve after the incident with his brother. According to Kwan, Jeremy reduced his work hours to focus more on his school work, and perhaps to pay more attention to his brother. Danny only felt more determined to find the spirit and rid the threat still looming over Cameron.

Danny was ready to relax once the weekend came. His wish to sleep in was short lived after hearing a knock on his door early Saturday morning. He groaned as he rolled out of bed and shuffled over to the door. Dash stood on the other side, and it took Danny's sleepy brain a few minutes to realize why Dash would be waking him up so early on the weekend.

"Oh!" Danny covered his eyes with his hands, his head slightly bowing. "Right. The whole training thing." He rubbed at his eyes. "You didn't want to wait until a little later?" Was that a hint of a blush creeping onto Dash's face?

"Oh, uh," Dash turned his gaze away, scratching the side of his head, "I guess it is a bit early. I tend to do morning workouts." He already dressed in workout pants and a tight shirt. His hair was slightly tousled like he didn't bother to use any hair gel yet.

Danny sighed internally, saying farewell to his chance to sleep in. "Okay. Just let me get changed." He closed the door then walked over to his closet to grab some workout clothes. He dressed quickly in the navy blue pants and white sleeveless top. Once he ready with a bag slung over his shoulder, he stepped out of his room to see Dash filling up some water bottles for them. His mouth pulled into a small smile. Walking over to the sink, he leaned against the counter. "So where do you want to do this? I don't think we want to trash the apartment while we fight."

"And a normal gym is out of the question." Dash capped off both water bottles. "I thought the school gym might be okay. No one is ever there on the weekend, especially this early. And it's a fairly large open area. We don't have to worry about damaging any equipment since it's all stored away."

"Hm," Danny considered, "I guess no ecto blasts for this. We don't want to have to explain any scorch marks to anyone."

"That sounds like a good plan." Dash loaded the water bottles into his own bag. "Let's go." He tossed his bag over his shoulder, and Danny followed him out of the apartment.

"I could always just fly us there," Danny offered as they headed down to the car. "It would be quicker. Just ask Kwan."

Dash halted. Then he spun around, placing a hand on Danny's chest to stop him. "You flew? With Kwan?" His brow furrowed deeply as he glared coldly.

"Um," Danny swallowed, flashing back to all the times Dash would beat him up, "yes?"

"And he," Dash hesitated, his mouth drawing downward, "didn't say anything to you about it?"

"No?" Danny could feel sweat gathering on his palms as a nervous feeling twisted in his gut. What was Dash trying to get at here?

"Hm." Dash dropped his hand away. "I'm surprised he didn't refuse the offer. He's never really done well with heights."

Danny's eyes widened, and it felt like a brick dropped inside him. "He didn't-" He smacked his hand to his forehead. "I'm such a jerk! I didn't even give him the chance to say no. I just grabbed him and flew off. Does he hate me? Why am I so stupid?"

"Whoa!" Dash put his hands on Danny's shoulders. "Calm down a moment! Kwan doesn't hate you. You'd have to do a lot to get him to hate you, and no offense, but you're too much the nice guy to do that." He chuckled, and Danny was glad he still had his face covered with his hands because his cheeks started to feel warm. "All you have to do is apologize, and he'll forgive you."

"I just feel like such a jerk." Danny sighed, lowering his hands away from his face. "I try to think of other people's feelings, and I just didn't even consider Kwan might not like flying."

"Kwan's going to tell you not to beat yourself up about it." Dash bopped him lightly on the head then turned and continued heading for the car. He shook his head, snorting a small laugh. "The two of you are nice practically to a fault. Don't you ever getting mad about anything?"

"Isn't that the secret?" Danny questioned, deepening his voice. "I'm always angry."

"Okay, Hulk." Dash gave him a shove, and Danny laughed.

"I get mad." Danny shrugged. "But I try not to explode on people." His expression fell as he lowered his gaze. He didn't want to risk ever turning into Dan. That was one nightmare he doubted would ever go away, always sitting in the back of his mind.

"That begs, like, a lot of questions." Dash frowned over the top of the car with his door already open.

Danny shook his head, forcing away the thoughts. "It's nothing. I was just remembering something. But it isn't important." He climbed into the car, tucking his bag down at his feet, then buckled up like the click of his seatbelt locking ended the conversation.

Dash followed suit then turned his key in the ignition. "Yeah, I may not be a genius and stuff, but I'm not so stupid that I believe that look on your face meant nothing. But," his jaw set tightly, "I'll take Kwan's advice and not force you to tell me anything you're not ready to talk about."

"I never thought you were stupid."

Dash shot a look, one that said he clearly didn't believe the comment. They drove to the high school. Danny fiddled occasionally with the radio to find decent music to listen to on the drive. The parking lot was practically empty when they pulled in, only a few cars taking up parking spots. They grabbed their bags after parking then headed immediately for the gym. Danny didn't have much occasion to be in the gym, but it seemed bigger than the one they had at Casper High. The floors were nicely polished, and the windows were high up. Danny made a mental note not to fly too high while they trained.

"I think blasters are out." Danny set his bag down on the ground and searched through it.

"You haven't made any plans with Hayley since Thanksgiving?" Dash dropped his bag next to Danny's bag.

Shaking his head, Danny stood with a pair of gloves in his hands. "We talked the other day. I asked her if she wanted to grab dinner or something, but she said she already made plans with Celeste. She was curious if we maybe wanted to have a little get together around Christmas. Nothing too big or fancy."

"Depends on when she wants to hold it." Dash lifted an eyebrow when Danny held the gloves out to him. "Really? That's what you're giving me?"

"I know it seems ridiculous, but just try them out before you judge them." Danny smirked. "Are you ready?"

"Fighting a ghost with some silly gloves? Yeah, totally ready." Dash tugged the gloves on then flexed his fingers. "I know I'm no fashion genius like Paulina. But these aren't normal gloves, huh?"

"You know," Danny transformed then folded his arms as he floated a few inches from the floor, "I really wish you would stop saying you're no genius. You _are_ smart."

Dash eyed him hard like he was searching for some indication that Danny was messing with him. "Okay. Let's get to work." He took a swing at Danny, who almost failed to dodge in time. Dash was, as his name might suggest, fast.

Danny countered with a punch, but Dash blocked it. Their training went on for quite some time. Every time Danny thought he would land a hit, Dash managed to dodge or block it. Danny wondered how many fights Dash took part in. Their past fights were mostly one-sided with Dash doing all the pummeling.

Dash grabbed at him. Danny quickly sank into the floor to avoid capture, but he caught a hint of frustration in Dash's eyes. He _almost_ felt bad, but if Dash was facing off a real threat, the ghost wouldn't go easy on him. Popping out of the floor, Danny landed a punch to Dash's lower back. Dash retaliated by shoving his elbow back into Danny's face. The move surprised him. Danny hit the ground, his nose throbbing from the strike. Dash loomed over him. Danny fought back the instinctual response to fire an ecto energy ball at him. Instead, he immediately rolled away before Dash could get another hit on him. When he got to his feet again, Danny grinned. He always enjoyed a good sparring practice, and Dash was turning out to be a better partner than he imagined.

Danny moved in close and threw a punch. His fist scraped the side of Dash's head, just barely brushing against his left temple. It wouldn't leave a mark, he hoped. Dash caught hold of his arm. Danny turned intangible - or tried to - but the gloves prevented his powers from working. Dash threw him. Danny hit the floor with a gasp. The wind knocked out of his lungs. Before Danny could recover, Dash was on top of him, holding his arms pinned to the floor above his head.

"I guess these gloves aren't that silly after all." Dash smirked smugly.

Danny swallowed when he realized just how close Dash was leaning down toward him. Their faces were inches from each other, and Dash straddled his waist as he held him down. Danny's heart beat a touch faster. Thankfully, the gloves Dash wore kept Danny from accidentally phasing through the floor of the gym. He shifted back to human now that they weren't fighting.

"I - Yeah, they - Um, I modified one of my parents' inventions," Danny fumbled over his words, getting a little tongue tied when he caught himself staring into Dash's eyes. "Big metal gauntlets weren't exactly the most convenient design of everyday use. People would notice them, and they were kind of clunky. These gloves can easily be mistaken for regular gloves, so you can carry them on you without anyone thinking anything of them. They can disrupt a ghost's powers so they can't phase through your grip."

"I get to keep these, right?" Dash frowned in consideration. "But they won't help protect me from long range attacks."

"Yeah, I thought we should leave that for another day." Danny looked away, shifting awkwardly under Dash. "I didn't want to risk leaving any evidence of our activities here. We'll have to look a more suitable place for that."

"Get a picture!"

They both snapped their heads around to the doors of the gym. Three senior students stood there, two of them having pulled out their cell phones. Danny's face burned dark red, and Dash quickly climbed off him, getting to his feet. The young women squeaked when they realized Dash was storming toward them.

"What are you students doing here?" Dash questioned.

"We were just, um," said one of them, but words seemed to fail her as she couldn't come up with an answer.

"I hope you weren't thinking of doing something for a senior prank," Danny said as he walked over to join them. "It wouldn't be wise to get in trouble for something that might go on your record." He folded his arms as he gave the trio a stern stare.

"Oh! We, uh, we had that thing!" one of them spoke up.

"Oh, right! The thing!" the other two agreed with nods. They hurriedly backed out of the gym then walked quickly down the hall.

"Hey, wait!" Danny shouted, but it was too late. The students were long gone. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I really hope they don't spread that picture around." He had a sinking suspicion that picture would spread like wildfire among the students if the three women decided to share it. He didn't want any rumors going around about him and Dash being in some kind of relationship, even if he did think Dash was an attractive man. How would Dash react to students thinking there might be something more than friendship between them?

"I didn't even think about that." Dash stood with one hand on his hip as he rubbed at his eyes with his other hand.

Danny cast a glance to Dash, something tickling the back of his mind. "Speaking of pictures, do you have any idea why my second to last class keeps asking me to bring in my high school yearbook?"

Dash looked away. "Uh, well, I have no idea why they would want to see that." He bent down and grabbed his bag.

"Dash," Danny said sternly.

"I think it's time we call it a day. Want to grab some food on the way home?"

"Dash!" Danny grabbed his bag then hurried to follow after Dash who already left the gym.


	38. Chapter 38

"So is this what it's like?" Dash asked with his hands shoved into the pockets of his coat. He almost wished he was still back in the apartment where it was nice and warm. But when Fenton announced he would be going out on patrol, Dash jumped at the opportunity to go with him. Maybe he wouldn't be a big help to the ghost hero, but that wasn't going to stop him from lending a hand where he could. Now he walked along a busy street, sandwiched between Kwan and Fenton, with the chilly winter air nipping at his exposed cheeks.

"Well," Fenton said, his gaze sweeping all around the street. After their training session at the school gym, Dash explained why his students kept asking about seeing his yearbook. Fenton punched him in the arm, not quite hard enough to leave a bruise though. But Fenton wasn't angry in the end, like Dash worried, though he was annoyed enough to demand Dash do his laundry for a week. Dash suspected Danny mostly forgave him because Kwan kept threatening to hit them if they didn't resolve the issue. "Not entirely." Danny's voice remained low to keep the people they passed from overhearing his answer. "If I was alone, I could just fly around and search without being impeded by crowds."

"Oh." Dash winced. "I guess it would be easier without us around to hold you back."

Fenton snapped his head around, his eyes widening with a hint of panic. "No, no! That wasn't what I meant." He rubbed at his forehead. "First a mess up with Kwan. Now you. Tuck and Sam tagged along with my patrols all through high school, and those were a lot more hectic than here. You aren't holding me back. It," his shoulders hunched up, "feels nice having friends with me on patrol again."

Dash shrugged like it wasn't any big deal. If this was one of those cheesy romance dramas he loved so much, he could see this being the moment where the two protagonists finally shared their first kiss.

"What was that about me?" Kwan asked, peeking around Dash to see Fenton.

"Oh, uh-" Fenton glanced away with a nervous look. "Well, I've been trying to find a good time to do this, but, well-" He winced. "Sorry about just carrying you off like that. I had no idea you weren't good with heights. I just wanted to get back to school quickly, and I didn't stop to consider how you would feel about it. So I'm sorry."

Kwan blinked in surprise. "Oh, that's okay. I-" He shook his head. "Okay. I was about ready to vomit by the time we got back to school." He laughed it off, and Dash rolled his eyes, predicting that response. "But it's fine. We made it back in one piece, and it was really the only option for us at the time."

"I should have at least asked first." Fenton frowned, lowering his gaze. "I know in the past I've thought really selfishly, even with my friends. I try to be better about that, but sometimes I slip back into that kind of old habit."

"Really, it's okay. But if it'll make you feel better, I forgive you." Kwan smiled as Fenton visibly relaxed.

"See?" Dash slapped a hand to Fenton's back. "I told you he'd forgive you."

Kwan punched him on the shoulder then ignored when Dash pretended to be hurt by it. "So what do we do now? We've been walking around for almost two hours. You've led us to four ghosts, and none of them were the one you need to find."

"Yeah, sorry." Fenton raked a hand through his hair. "Not exactly the glamorous life of a hero you imagined, I bet. My ghost sense alerts me to ghosts present nearby, and if I know the ghost well, I can pick them out right away. But I've never met this ghost, so I kind of have to follow whatever lead I get."

"We weren't exactly expecting this to be easy," Dash said, but he couldn't deny he was growing a little frustrated about not finding any hint of the ghost yet.

Fenton placed a hand to his chin, his brow furrowing deep in thought. "Well, there's one ghost I could ask for help, but he's probably still mad at me after Halloween."

Kwan stared, baffled, before his eyebrows lifted. "Halloween? Do you mean that guy you dragged out of the party?"

"Oh, yeah!" Dash almost forgot entirely about that whole incident. "Who exactly was that?"

"Uh-" Fenton looked away, and it was clear he hadn't meant for that to slip. He sighed after a moment. "That was Skulker. He's," Fenton rolled his eyes, "a hunter. He likes to think he's the best hunter there is. Mostly he likes hunting rare and unique specimens. I guess he isn't _that_ bad at it, though Ember and I like to tease him about it sometimes."

"Ember?" Dash's eyes widened. "Like Ember McLain?" The name brought back memories. Everyone in their school was obsessed with her for a while. But Foley belting out one of her songs on stage at her concert destroyed everyone's interest.

"Y-Yeah, she's, um," Fenton bowed his head, shuffling his feet a little, "a ghost. Her music has this sort of hypnotic effect on people so she could control you all into chanting her name for power." He waved it off like the whole event wasn't important. "But she doesn't do that anymore. Her music is actually pretty good. When it's not mind controlling you." He tried to smile, but it fell flat.

"She was a-" Dash shouted until Kwan smacked him on the arm and shot a glare at him. "Sorry." He winced. A few people glanced their way, but most people simply kept walking. "I can't believe she was a ghost."

Fenton patted him on the shoulder with a sympathetic look. "She wasn't the only ghost to trick people into thinking she was still alive." He shrugged. "Anyway, I don't particularly want to ask for Skulker's help on this. He'd probably want me to do something in return, and I doubt I would like whatever that something is."

"Sounds like you've tried asking for his help before." Kwan frowned at the guilty expression on Fenton's face.

"Okay. The so-called great hunter guy is out." Dash folded his arms. "What other options do we have? Because walking around town blind could take forever to actually find this ghost."

"That is a problem," Fenton agreed with a slight crease in his brow. "This was a lot easier in Amity Park where ghosts didn't exactly care about hiding their presence." He chewed on his lower lip for a moment then sighed. "Let's just keep walking around for another hour. Maybe we won't find anything, but we might get lucky and stumble across some clue to help us."

"I guess it couldn't hurt." Kwan shrugged, and they both looked to Dash.

He was tired and it was growing colder, but Dash knew how it important it was to find this ghost. Jeremy's younger brother might be alive and awake now, but as he explained to them, Fenton only had until the start of the new year to achieve his given task. If he didn't - Well, Fenton didn't say anything, but it seemed heavily implied that this Gertrude ghost lady would reclaim Cameron's soul.

"All right. Another hour of searching," Dash agreed with a small bob of his head. They continued walking down the street through the crowd. After a few blocks, they turned onto a quieter side street. They were nearly to the next intersection when something suddenly landed on his shoulder. Dash shouted, flailing his arms as he jumped. Fenton immediately fell into a defensive stance, his eyes glowing green. Kwan stared with wide eyes, but he broke out laughing a moment later.

"It's just that cat," Kwan said between his chuckles.

Yawning widely, the cat curled their tail around Dash's neck, the soft fur tickling him where it brushed his exposed skin.

"I thought you stayed back at the apartment," Dash mumbled as he reached up to scratch under the cat's chin. Ever since Fenton returned after the whole panic inducing disappearance, Dash found Avery the cat liked to come and curl up next to him in his bed. He didn't know why the cat liked him so much, but he decided it was better to be on their good side.

"Well, Avery is a ghost," Fenton reminded him. "They can easily slip out and go wherever they want whenever they want. I guess Avery decided to tag along with our search."

"Do you have any idea where that ghost is hiding?" Kwan asked, but Avery merely squinted their eyes at him, which wasn't a helpful response.

"Unfortunately, Avery is just here to collect the spirit once I find it." Fenton's mouth pressed thin, perhaps a little annoyed that the cat didn't seem to like him. "It's my job to find this spirit."

"Well, if he's a teenager, do you think he might go back to places where he typically hung out before he died?" Dash questioned, grabbing at whatever ideas he could to help with the search.

"That could be worth a shot." Kwan tossed a glance to Fenton, like he was waiting to hear his opinion.

"It's possible." Fenton folded his arms, drumming his fingers against his bicep. "Some ghosts do tend to haunt certain locations. I think some have that idea that ghosts are stuck haunting the place of their death, but if that was true in this case, this spirit wouldn't be so difficult to find because he would be stuck in that one location. Though I guess it's also possible that he sometimes visits locations he has strong ties to, which could include places where he would hang out with his friends."

"So what's your verdict here?" Dash asked to stop the rambling thoughts spilling from Fenton's mouth.

His mouth snapped shut like Fenton only just realized he was speaking instead of thinking. A small, cute flush crept onto his cheeks. "Uh, any idea where the teens tend to hang out here? Maybe we can at least find someone that knows him and can give us an idea where he liked to hang out."

"There's this spot that overlooks the town," Kwan said then shrank back when his roommates turned their gazes on him. "What? I overheard some of the students talking about it in the halls."

"All right." Dash dropped his hands onto Kwan's shoulder and pushed him forward. "Lead the way."

Kwan sighed heavily but walked ahead of his roommates. The spot turned out to be a far walk away, and Dash regretted not taking the car. Thankfully, there was a road up to the cliff, which didn't wind too closely to the edge. Kwan still eyed it with some hesitancy, his face paling a shade. Dash always thought he was in good shape, but by the time they reached the top, he was a bit winded. It made him feel a little better to see Fenton having to catch his breath. Fenton could have easily flown up to the top of the cliff, but instead, he chose the hard road of walking up it with his roommates. Maybe he was thinking too much in symbolic terms, or whatever, but Dash thought it said a lot about Fenton's character. He didn't always take the easy route to do something. He put in the hard work to achieve what he wanted. It was something Dash could understand and relate to, after all the hard work he went through to become a teacher.

"Are you doing okay?" Fenton asked, placing a hand on Kwan's shoulder.

Kwan nodded. "Yeah. I, uh, might hang back a bit." He stared ahead where they could see the lights from some parked cars. They were far enough away from the cliff to make it feel like they were at ground level.

"We won't be long," Dash promised, bumping his shoulder into his friend. A brief smile flashed across Kwan's face, assuring Dash his friend would be all right alone for a little while. "How about you stay and keep him company?" He lifted the cat from his shoulder. Avery released an annoyed meow but allowed Kwan to hold them.

"I really don't get this," Fenton commented as he and Dash walked toward the car lights. "Animals don't usually hate me. I'm not trying to say they love me, but I think I do all right with the majority. I mean, there was this ghost dog Cujo. It was months before he stopped popping up practically everywhere I went. He still comes around sometimes but not as much. I just don't get why Avery seems to hate me."

"Hm." Dash considered, glancing sideways at Fenton. "I guess animals can be picky. It might not have anything to do with you as a person. Maybe Avery doesn't like the way you smell or something."

Fenton snapped his head around, frowning with a small crease in his brow. "Are you trying to say I stink?"

"I don't know!" Dash held up his hands. "I don't go around sniffing at you. But maybe to a cat. They have strong senses, right? Maybe you wear some kind of cologne or use a shampoo that has a scent to it Avery doesn't like."

"I guess." Fenton's expression didn't change as he walked a pace faster than Dash.

_That was smooth_. Dash nearly smacked himself on the forehead. Why did he have to start talking about how Fenton smelled? And why did he have to now wonder what cologne Fenton used? _Just stop thinking about that_. He ran his hands over his face, resisting the urge to groan out his frustrations.

"So," Dash said, grabbing for another topic, and hopefully get his mind off how Fenton might smell, "do you think this is all going to turn out all right?"

"That's my hope." Fenton sighed as he scratched a hand through his hair. "But I'm no Clockwork. I don't have the power to see all the possible roads so I can choose the one with the best outcome." He kept his gaze on the ground, shuffling his feet along as they neared the cars. "What if it doesn't though? It'll be my fault if Cameron dies. I know I'm supposed to be the hero, but I haven't always won. I've had my butt kicked more times than I can count. I've seen the spirits of children brought to Gertrude to move on. But I've never been the one responsible for whether a child is or isn't taken."

"Hey," Dash stopped, turning to Fenton and placing his hands on his shoulders, "this _is_ going to work out. You've always pulled through tough situations in the past. You're going to it again now. I know it. Kwan knows it. We believe in you."

Fenton lifted his eyes, and a smile briefly pulled across his face. Then the sounds of a scuffle drew their attention. Dash's gaze immediately landed on three people standing in the light of a car's headlights. A greasy haired man wore a leather jacket three sizes too big and baggy pants that rode low on his hips to show off his boxers. He stood over another man who lay flat on his back as he held a hand to his nose. Fenton was gone from Dash's side before it fully registered what was happening. Rushing over to the trio of teenagers, Fenton grabbed the standing man's arm, stopping him from going after the other man's throat with the knife in his hand.

Dash jogged over to the scene and knelt next to the man on the ground. "Are you okay?" he asked, glancing up to Fenton then back to the man.

"Yeah," he answered, gingerly touching his bloody nose. He winced with a hiss, his nose clearly broken.

"I don't know what's going on here," Fenton said as the man tried to fight off Fenton's hold on his arm. "But I think you should put that knife away before you do something you regret."

"I won't regret cutting the dirty faced thug for making a move on what's mine." The man sneered, his lip curling up and showing off the braces on his teeth. Across his throat, POWER was written in black ink against his pale flesh. Behind him, a woman hugged her arms around her body like she was trying to protect herself. Her red hair fell in loose waves over her right shoulder, and freckles were scattered across her cheeks. If he squinted hard enough, Dash thought he saw a hint of purple coloring her neck, but it was too faint to be certain.

"What did you call me?"

Dash hurriedly grabbed the man with the broken nose before he could attack the other man. "Hey. Hey! It's not worth it to get into a fight."

"I'm going to Harvard next year, you wannabe punk!" spat out the man struggling to break free of Dash's hold. "And I have no idea what you're talking about. All I asked Paige was where she got her necklace. I thought it looked like something my girlfriend might like, so I wanted to check out the place to see if there was something to get her for a gift. I wasn't 'making a move' on anyone."

"It was from Leilani on-"

"Don't talk to him, woman!" snapped the man with the knife.

"Bryce, please!" Paige begged. "You don't have to do this. You already-" She choked on her words, her face paling. "You already made enough of a scene. Let's just go." She looked desperate to get out of the situation as quickly as possible.

Bryce scowled, but the fight seemed to fade from him, the tension relaxing in his posture. "Fine," he spat out with a snarl. "This place is stupid anyway." He yanked his arm free the second Fenton loosened his hold on it. He grabbed Paige's arm then roughly dragged her with him as he stormed away.

Fenton stared after them with his mouth pursed tightly. Once the couple was out of sight, he sighed and turned back to Dash, who still held back the man with the bloody nose. "That doesn't look too good." Fenton winced. "We could take-"

"I don't need anything from you." The man turned a scowl at Dash. "You can let go now."

"Right. Sorry." Dash released him, and the man dug into his pocket for something to dab at the blood on his face. "Look. We're not cops."

"No kidding," the man muttered bitterly. He glanced between Fenton and Dash. "This isn't exactly the type of place adults come to."

"We were looking for someone," Fenton explained, pulling out a photograph which he showed the man. Before they left their apartment, Fenton had Avery transform to look like the spirit they were searching for and took a picture so they had a visual to show when asking about the spirit.

The man frowned as he glanced at the picture. "Wait." He grabbed at the picture, tearing it from Fenton's hand. "You're looking for Sawyer?"

"You know who this is?" Dash asked.

"Yeah, I mean, we go to the same school. But no one's seen Sawyer for a while." The man shrugged, holding the picture out for Fenton to take. "Some people are saying Sawyer ran away or something."

"Do you know where he might have gone? Or where he liked to hang out? Maybe a safe place he would go to hide?" Fenton fired off his questions, and Dash could see the hope practically bursting out of him. They might have actually landed on their best lead to find the spirit.

The man narrowed his eyes. "Well, I wasn't exactly friends with Sawyer." His mouth thinned as he thought. "Hang on a minute." He walked away, heading toward another group of teenagers, who were trying not to look too interested in what was happening with them. After some minutes of awkward silence, the man returned. "So none of us really knew Sawyer all that well. I mean, we might have talked a few times, but I don't think Sawyer was ever really friends with any of us."

"Oh." The hope deflated from Fenton as his shoulders sagged. The man offered a few suggestions for where they could look for Sawyer, but he couldn't guarantee Sawyer would be at any of them. "Well, thanks anyway."

The man walked away, back to his friends, and Fenton and Dash turned to head back toward where Kwan waited for them. It was awkward and silent as the lights of the cars faded behind them. Dash could tell Fenton was disappointed with the way things turned out, and he felt like he should say something. He scratched at the side of his head, debating how he could make Fenton feel better.

"It wasn't a complete failure. We got some tips on where to look," Dash slapped a hand onto Fenton's shoulder as he forced a smile. "And we got a name. That's at least a step forward."

"I know." Fenton sighed. "And it's good. I just-" He shook his head. "I want to find this ghost as quickly as possible. But I guess we should call it a night." He chewed on his lower lip. "I hope Kwan's doing all right."

Dash agreed with a nod, and they hurried their pace back to where Kwan stood, holding a purring Avery in his arms as he waited. They recounted the events that happened to Kwan as they walked back down the cliff's road. Dash frowned as he thought back to the faint marks he saw on Paige. Was Paige being abused by her boyfriend? He rubbed at his forehead, hoping that wasn't the case.


	39. Chapter 39

Kwan sighed, raking a hand through his hair. Their weekend search for the spirit turned out fruitless. The teenagers' hangout spot on the cliff overlooking town might have clued them in on the spirit's name and a few places where they might find him. But Sawyer seemed to have few friends. Plenty of the teenagers they questioned spoke to Sawyer on occasion during school, but they weren't close friends who hung out all the time. Many of them expressed concern about Sawyer's disappearance, but they couldn't offer much help for where he might have gone. From the sound of it, none of them thought Sawyer was the type to simply run away from home.

Kwan frowned. Obviously, Sawyer didn't simply run away from home if he ended up as a spirit. If he wasn't haunting places familiar to him when he was alive, then where was he? Danny may have rejected the idea of seeking help from some of his ghost friends, but Kwan thought it might be time to consider it, though they did still have a few weeks left before the deadline. They couldn't simply ignore their jobs teaching in order to dedicate all their time searching for the spirit. Having a few ghosts to aid them might help the search go faster.

"Keep frowning like that and you'll get wrinkles." Dash nudged him in the ribs with his elbow.

Kwan nearly jumped. He was so lost in his thoughts he missed when his friend appeared at his side. "Sorry." He rubbed at his forehead. Their winter break couldn't come soon enough. Once school was out, they should have more free time for searching.

Dash shook his head. "I know exactly what you're thinking."

"Really?" Kwan arched an eyebrow with a doubtful look.

"Of course!" Dash cracked a grin, and Kwan averted his eyes with a small flutter in his chest. "I know my best friend." He pounded his fist lightly against Kwan's shoulder. "You're worrying about finding that spirit before the new year so we can save Cameron." His smile fell flat as he lowered his blue eyes to the floor. "I think we all have that on our mind. I know this isn't something that takes only a few hours of looking and then everything's all fine and dandy again. But I feel like there's this giant clock hanging over us, ticking away the seconds until time's up."

_Ah, that_. Kwan almost laughed to himself. Of course Dash meant the whole spirit situation. He felt guilty to be relieved about that. A part of him, a small part, almost suspected Dash knew about his feelings. They seemed to become a bigger tangled mess by the day, and he feared he let something slip to reveal his feelings to Dash. Biting the inside of his cheek, he glanced to his friend. Dash remained oblivious, and though he seemed to settle into the idea of being bisexual, he still hadn't made any effort to seek out a man to date. Kwan felt sick to think Dash would come home one day and announce he was dating some man he recently met.

"We'll find him," Kwan said, putting on a smile as he held up a fist in an attempt to seem confident. He tried to always sound positive, but sometimes it was difficult. "This kind of thing, Danny's done it before. He'll do whatever he can to make sure everything turns out all right in the end." His smile faltered. "You know, we always idolized Phantom as a hero, but I don't think I could do everything Danny does. I don't know how he deals with all this crazy ghost stuff while maintaining a normal life."

"I don't think Fenton's ever had a normal life. Ow!" Dash rubbed at his arm where Kwan slapped him. "What? I only meant how normal a life could he have had when his parents were obsessed with ghosts?"

Kwan's mouth pursed as he considered the question. "I see your point. But I don't think his life growing up was necessarily a bad one."

"I never said bad. I only said not normal. Or at least what we would consider normal." Dash shrugged.

"I don't know." Kwan frowned as he eyed his friend. "In some ways, I think he might have had the better childhood." When Dash fell quiet for some time, Kwan felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. Why did he have to say something stupid?

"I guess we all had our issues." Dash shrugged and walked a pace faster down the hall.

"Dash-" Hanging his head, Kwan sighed. Then he hurried to catch up to his friend. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean - That was a stupid comment." He kept his gaze on the floor. A hand slapped against the back of his head, making it jerk forward, and stayed there.

"I'd be lying if I didn't think my life would have been a little better if it was a little more like Fenton's," Dash murmured softly, like he was letting Kwan in on a big secret. "But I realize his life wasn't exactly perfect either."

A whistle distracted the pair from their conversation. When he turned his head away to look for the whistler, Kwan realized a group of students stood around them. The students stared at them with varying degrees of expectation. Kwan's brow creased as he wondered for what they were all waiting.

"Shouldn't you all be getting to class?" Dash gave them a stern look, but it didn't seem to intimidate the students into rushing off to class.

"Kiss!" someone shouted from somewhere in the crowd. Kwan couldn't see whom shouted it, but his cheeks grew flushed in an instant. Why would the student shout something like that?

"Um," a female students stepped forward hesitantly, her cheeks turning a bright red, "mistletoe." She pointed up, and both teachers lifted their gazes to see the sprig of mistletoe hanging right above them.

"Who put that there?" Dash questioned. Once December came, the wintery themed decorations came out, and everyone plastered them all around the school. The windows looked like they were frosted over, though snow had yet to fall. The weather forecast suggested they might see snowfall soon.

"Tradition says you have to kiss the person you stand under the mistletoe with," a male student commented.

Kwan frowned, his gaze darting back up to the mistletoe. It was practically the perfect excuse to kiss Dash without it seeming weird. He bit the inside of his cheek as guilt settled inside him. While he would like to kiss Dash, he preferred Dash _wanting_ to kiss him. "I'm pretty sure mistletoe was banned as a decoration," he said, turning his frown onto the students.

"Oh, come on!"

"That's lame!"

"Boo!"

"What's wrong with a little mistletoe?"

Kwan winced at the loud response from the students to his comment.

"Now, now." Dash held up his hands, trying to calm the crowd of students. "We have good reason for banning mistletoe. It might seem like a silly decision. It's just a small decoration. Completely harmless. Right?" Several of the students nodded, agreeing to that idea. "But imagine for a second, you're minding your own business when someone traps you under the mistletoe. There's a group around you, all cheering on for the two of you to kiss. But there's a problem. The person that trapped you is someone who has been harassing you and giving you unwanted attention. This is an awkward situation because you're under the watch of a public who expect a kiss to happen and have no understanding why this might be uncomfortable for you. If you don't kiss, you'll likely be harassed by the crowd of onlookers, but if you do kiss, you give this person exactly what they wanted. Their plan worked. We can't allow a situation like this to happen because we, as your teachers, want to look out for your safety and well being. So while it may seem silly to some of you, to others it might be a serious issue."

Kwan noticed a wave of uneasiness pass through the students, which was exactly what Dash was going for with his story. "I know this may disappoint some of you, but it's for the best that we take down the mistletoe. Is this the only one that was put up?" From the way the students averted their gazes, he suspected they had put up more sprigs of mistletoe around the school. He sighed. "Okay. I want you all to remove any mistletoe you find around the school."

"Hey!" Dash shouted when several of the students groaned. They quickly fell silent, snapping to attention. "This is about maintaining a safe environment for everyone in the school. We know this is a time of year where you all want to decorate and be in the holiday spirit, and we encourage that. But it's also important to be respectful of your classmates."

"We understand," several of them responded, and a few bowed their heads.

"Good." Dash nodded. "Now don't be late for class."

The crowd dispersed, the students shuffling off through the hall toward their next class. Kwan heard a few grumbles of disappointment, but the students were too far away for him to pick out exactly what was said. He watched some of the students walking away then lifted his gaze to the ceiling where the mistletoe still hung over them. When a pair of lips brushed against his cheeks, he jumped, his heart nearly leaping into his throat. He snapped his head around, and Dash laughed.

"I didn't mean to scare you." His laughter subsided, but there was still an amused twinkle in Dash's eyes. "But it is a tradition. Give me a boost so I can take it down."

Right. Tradition. Kwan tried not to let his disappointment show on his face. He was thrilled Dash kissed him, even just a little peck on the cheek which left his ears burning. But if it was just out of obligation, then it probably meant little to Dash. Or at least, it didn't hold anywhere near the same meaning as it did for Kwan.

"I guess it's a good thing you didn't get caught under the mistletoe with Mr. Dreyer." Kwan laughed when Dash shuddered at the mention of the elderly history teacher.

Then Kwan crouched down slightly, lacing his fingers together to make a foothold for Dash. After fitting his foot into Kwan's hands, Dash placed his hands on his friend's shoulders for balance. Kwan slowly lifted him up until Dash was able to reach up and remove the mistletoe. Dash remained steady with one knee resting on Kwan's shoulder and a hand on his head. But when someone coughed, Dash lost his balance. Kwan managed catch Dash in his arms before his friend could crash to the ground.

"Well, this is interesting."

"Hello, Mary," Kwan greeted with a friendly smile.

Mary Burke lifted an eyebrow at them, and Dash quickly removed himself from Kwan's arms. "Have I interrupted something?"

"Just taking down some mistletoe someone put up," Dash explained, holding up said mistletoe to show her.

"Oh. I see." Mary tried to keep a blank expression, but her mouth curled slightly, hinting at a small smirk. "You weren't trying to steal a kiss from someone?"

"What? No." Dash frowned, and Mary lifted an eyebrow skeptically. "Was there something you needed?"

"Well, I took your advice." Mary walked over to them, checking through some books and papers she carried. "I had a lovely little dinner with Celeste and her new pal over the weekend. She wanted me to pass these along to you." She held out a pair of envelopes with their names in delicate cursive writing.

"What are these?" Kwan asked, curiously taking the one with his name.

"Invitations." Mary waved the other envelope until Dash finally snatched it out of her hand. "Apparently Celeste and Hayley want to throw a little Christmas party this weekend. A bit early, really, but with it being Christmas and all, she didn't know if you would be around or travelling to visit family."

"She really wants me there?" Dash stared at the envelope, his eyes growing slightly wider. "I wasn't sure that she wanted anything to do with me. I mean," he lifted his head, "we haven't exactly spoken since the talk."

"I think she just wanted some time to figure out her own stuff." Mary stood with one hand on her hip. "You aren't the only one with things to think about."

"I never said anything!" Dash raised his hands in defense. "But," the corner of his mouth curled upward, "I'm glad she doesn't completely hate me."

"She was upset, but she doesn't hate you." Mary rolled her eyes. "But you're lucky she took the whole thing all right. Or you and I," she pointed between the two of them, "would be having issues of our own."

"I thought we were done with the threats." Though he said it casually, Dash grew the slightest hint paler. The bell rang, and Dash almost looked relieved. "Time to get to class." He grabbed Kwan's hand. "Yours is this way, right?" He pulled his friend along down the hall away from Mary. Even after they were far enough away, Dash didn't immediately release his hold. "She's never going to let that go, is she?"

"Well," Kwan rubbed the back of his ear, hoping his heart wasn't beating too loudly, "you did upset her friend. Mary just wants to protect Celeste."

"No one jumps down Fenton's throat after he broke up with Hayley."

"I wouldn't say that." Kwan chuckled when Dash shot him a confused look. "I heard him on the phone with his sister once. She didn't sound too happy about them breaking up." He frowned slightly as he thought about it. "Though she did sound kind of understanding at the same time. I guess that's a hard spot to be in. She wants to protect her brother from being hurt, but she's also friends with Hayley and wants to protect her friend from being hurt."

"Do you think she yelled at Hayley too?"

Kwan shrugged. "Who knows? But I don't think it would be surprising if she did."

Dash nodded, seeming to think on it for a while. "Catch you after class." He released Kwan's hand as he broke off to head down the hall toward his next class.

"Yeah," Kwan mumbled quietly, watching Dash leave. Then he sighed and walked into his own class. Why couldn't he just tell Dash how he felt?


	40. Chapter 40

"Thanks," Danny said, happily accepting the hot chocolate Kwan handed him. The weather forecast suggested they might see snow in the late afternoon. Luckily, none fell yet, though the clouds overhead remained dark and gloomy. He hoped they wouldn't have to deal with snow before they returned to their apartment. He liked to sit all cozy by the window and watch the snow falling outside but not so much when it came to shoveling the walkway or having the trudge through the snow to get somewhere.

"I bet Dash is pretty annoyed right now." Kwan sipped at his own hot chocolate as they continued walking down the street. "He really wanted to be a part of looking for the spirit."

"Too bad he got roped into helping out with setting up for that winter dance this weekend." Danny would have found it amusing if not for the reason behind it. The three students that caught them in the gym the previous Saturday approached Dash at the end of the school day to ask him to help. Dash tried to refuse, but the seniors showed him the picture they managed to snap, mentioning what a shame it would be if that picture somehow got leaked to other students. Danny didn't know how he managed to escape their little blackmail.

"That is pretty strange." Kwan frowned. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?"

"No." Danny shook his head as he bit the inside of his cheek. Then he nudged Kwan with his elbow. "But hey, we got out of having to chaperone the dance." He grinned, but he didn't think his roommate was buying it.

Kwan eyed him for a moment, a bit skeptical, then he sighed. "Well, I might not have done any training with you, but I hope I won't disappoint you as a partner if a fight comes up."

"You won't disappoint me!" Danny bumped his fist into Kwan's shoulder. "I know you'll be able to handle yourself. You, at least, know how to handle that blaster I gave you." It was a small blaster that Kwan hid well under his coat in a shoulder holster Danny gave him. He figured, with it being much like a pistol, Kwan wouldn't have too much trouble with it. "Anyway, I think we'll be all right. We haven't run into any trouble yet."

"Yet being the important word there." Kwan sipped his hot chocolate as they walked down the street. He kept watch of their surroundings with a far keener eye than Danny would have originally thought back in high school. "I spent all of high school thinking Phantom was the only good ghost. I guess I'm still kind of waiting for things to hit the fan like in Amity Park."

"Okay. I won't say there's absolutely no possibility of a fight happening," Danny winced, praying for things to go smoothly, "because that is always a possibility when dealing with ghosts. But this spirit, Sawyer, apparently was ready to pass on before Cameron interfered with his accidental summoning. I don't know why he has decided to stay after that, but I feel like he's not a bad spirit."

"What happens if a spirit doesn't pass on?" Kwan had a curious gleam in his eye, and Danny bit his lower lip to keep from smiling. After learning the truth about Danny being Phantom, Kwan was eager to learn more about ghosts and whatever else popped up in their conversations. It was sort of a relief for Danny not having to hide everything from his roommates.

"They become ghosts." Danny chuckled at the puzzled expression on Kwan's face. "Ghosts and spirits aren't entirely the same things. They're similar enough that we can easily confuse them as being the same. But how it was works is generally when people die, they become spirits. These spirits are usually collected and brought to Gertrude to pass over, which can include being reborn. They have no powers beyond just the usual invisibility, intangibility, and flight. They're pretty harmless. But the longer they stay in our world, or the Ghost Zone, they usually form some kind of attachment or obsession that starts the shift from spirit to ghost. Of course, it's entirely possible to completely skip over the spirit step and jump right into being a ghost. People who have been murdered or left with some unresolved issue. And some just have a strong enough desire not to pass over." Danny shrugged.

Kwan rubbed his forehead like it was all too much to take in for him. "I guess I never realized there was such a distinction with all of this."

"It took me a couple of years to figure it out." Danny smiled, his cheeks reddening a touch. "After, you know, I got over the whole 'ghosts are evil' way of thinking."

"You must have a ton of tales to tell about your experiences."

"Yeah," Danny said softly, lowering his gaze. "Not all of them good experiences."

Kwan stared for a minute then dropped his gaze to his hot chocolate. "Yeah, I guess there would be some bad ones in there too. I won't ask you to talk about anything you don't want to."

"Thanks." Danny smiled. But his insides twisted uncomfortably when he thought about Dan. He fought hard to keep that timeline from ever coming into existence, and Dan remained, thankfully, safely locked away in Clockwork's tower.

"Hey." Kwan placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Danny glanced up and almost winced when he saw the worry in Kwan's eyes. "Ah, yeah, sorry." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was just thinking back on some of those bad experiences." He waved it off and forced a smile onto his face. "But it's nothing to worry about. I mean it. It's over and done with, and it won't come up again." He hoped, but he felt confident Clockwork wouldn't unleash Dan onto the world.

"If you're certain." Kwan's brow creased, and he looked like he was sorely tempted to ask about it. But as he said, he didn't press the topic. "I think we've exhausted our search here. Maybe we should try someplace with less foot traffic?" He cast a glance about at the crowd walking around them.

"You might have a point. Do you have any suggestions for where to search next?" Danny chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip. The more violent ghosts preferred high traffic places for maximum chaos, at least in Amity Park. But the peaceful ghosts liked places where they could be left alone and exist without anyone bothering them, if they decided not to reside in the Ghost Zone. But where would Sawyer wish to reside?

"Hm," Kwan considered for a moment, staring up at the darkening sky, "what about the park?" His cheeks grew pink when he glanced at Danny to find the confusion on his face. "I just mean, well, we haven't bothered to search there yet. It seems as good as any a place to look. One of those teens did mention that Sawyer liked drawing, and they often saw him sketching landscapes. A park is a pretty good place to sit and draw his surroundings."

Danny pondered. "And it seems like a place he would go alone, which would explain why the other teens didn't mention it since they were only suggesting places they've seen him hang out." He grabbed Kwan's arm. "Let's go!"

As they walked, Danny couldn't ignore all the decorations people put up for the, swiftly approaching, Christmas holiday. It didn't bother him as much as it did in the past. He owed his thanks to Ghostwriter, even if he still hated being stuck in a rhyming Christmas story just to learn his lesson. But now he enjoyed the holiday season. The colored lights hung over buildings twinkled, some haphazardly put up and others in intricate designs.

"So," Danny said after about ten minutes of silent walking, "what do you and Dash do for Christmas? Another visit to the hospital?"

"Well, we do get presents for the children." Kwan chuckled at the panic flashing across Danny's face. "Don't worry about it. You don't have to give presents just because we do."

"I feel like I come off like a jerk if I don't." Danny winced. "Maybe I can pick up some toys over the weekend."

"Nothing that makes loud noises and preferably nothing that can go whizzing around the hospital," Kwan advised. "We don't want to make things difficult for the staff."

"Of course." Danny chewed on his lower lip. His presents for his family, Tucker, and Sam were bought, wrapped, and waiting for Christmas morning. Even though Sam celebrated Hanukkah instead of Christmas, the three friends still had a little gift exchange the day after Christmas. But Kwan and Dash? Danny still struggled with what to get them. Even though he glanced around at the shops they passed while on their search for the spirit, nothing sprang out to him as the perfect gift.

"We like to get things to the hospital before the break starts, so we'll probably drop them off some time midweek. And you don't have to worry about wrapping anything. Usually the hospital staff picks out which toys they think each child might like."

Danny nodded as he digested everything Kwan told him. "You know, I expect something like this from you. You've always been nice to everyone and stuff. But it's still kind of surprising to know Dash does this kind of stuff. I know he's changed a lot since high school and all. But what got him into doing this? You feel like the best answer to that."

Kwan laughed at his rambling, and Danny ducked his head with a light blush. "I actually was the one getting dragged into it by Dash. We have a good life going for us. But life hasn't always been great. I think Dash remembers his own struggles and wants to do something, even something little, to bring happiness to sick children."

"He's a pretty good guy." A smile tugged at Danny's lips. He _almost_ wished he would learn some bad things about Dash to put off any romantic thoughts. His cheeks reddened when he remembered how his first training session with Dash ended. He wanted to say he didn't think about it, but it would be a lie.

"Yeah," Kwan agreed, "he is."

Danny glanced over to Kwan. There was something in his voice, but Danny couldn't quite identify it. A light breeze ruffled Kwan's hair. There was a small cut by his ear, an old scar long since healed, but Danny wondered how he got it. Then he snapped his gaze away before he was caught staring too long, his heart almost trying to jump into his throat. Sometimes it was easy put aside his feelings and act normal around his roommates. Then he would catch himself thinking about them as more than just roommates. He never dealt with a situation like this before, where he felt attraction to two different people at the same time. That they were both his roommates made it all more complicated. He didn't want to ruin what he had by acting on his feelings, though he doubted either of them would return those feelings. He sighed as they passed through the gate of the park.

"Is everything okay?"

"Huh? Ah, yeah." Danny smiled and hoped it didn't look too forced. He tossed the empty hot chocolate cup into the trash can they passed, and Kwan did the same."Just, you know, tired."

"Oh." Kwan frowned with that little crease of worry appearing in his brow. "We could call it a night. If you want."

Danny shook his head. "No, it's fine. Let's at least take a look around the park first."

Kwan still looked concerned but agreed with a small bob of his head. They strolled down the path through the park, Kwan keeping an eye out for anything suspicious while Danny focused on his ghost sense. For the first few minutes, Danny was almost ready to call it another dead end in their search. But it was nice walking through the quiet park, practically alone, with Kwan. They didn't see anyone on their path, but it was a fairly big park so he didn't rule out that other people were in the park. The lampposts were decorated with Christmas lights spiraling up them and wreaths hanging from them. It just needed a blanket of snow, and it would feel like they were walking through a winter wonderland. Danny's cheeks burned with embarrassment at such a cheesy thought.

"I'm not seeing anything," Kwan said, breaking the silence.

Danny wasn't even sure how much time passed since they entered the park, having let his mind get distracted by other things. He did, however, note the disappointment tingeing Kwan's voice. "Hey, we'll-" He turned his head, feeling the tingle of ice on the edge of his senses. "I wouldn't count this as a failure just yet." He tugged on Kwan's arm as he headed in the direction where he sensed the ghost. It occurred to him a few seconds later that he never let go of Kwan's arm on their way to the park. A flush threatened to rise to his cheeks, but he fought it back.

"What exactly does that feel like?" Kwan asked as they walked hurriedly through the park.

"What?" Danny blinked, puzzled by the question.

"Um, the whole," Kwan's cheeks grew pink, and Danny doubted it was just from the cold weather, "sensing ghosts thing."

"Oh, uh, how do I describe it?" Danny pondered. "Sometimes it's just like a tingle in the back of my head, and other times it feels like ice running down my spine. I think we're getting close." The sense was stronger now, though he didn't see the spirit yet. "Hopefully, if this is the spirit, this will all go smoothly, but just in case, you should probably be ready to use that blaster if things don't go well," he advised. "But that's only if things are looking really bad. I want to avoid this becoming a fight if possible."

Kwan nodded in understanding, checking on the blaster to make sure it was easily accessible though still concealed. Danny led the way forward, cautiously and quietly, not wanting to spook the spirit or ghost he sensed. After walking a little farther through the park, he held out an arm for Kwan to stop. They were close, and he preferred to approach the ghost or spirit first. He walked forward, phasing through the bushes to avoid making any noise.

Kneeling on the ground in the small clearing among the bushes, the spirit looked almost exactly as Avery showed him, but his deep brown skin started to take on a green hue, a sign of the spirit shifting into a ghost. His hands clawed at the dirt in a fury like he was desperately searching for something.

"Um, Sawyer?" Danny said gently, hoping he didn't startle the spirit.

Sawyer jerked his head up, panic in his red tinged brown eyes. Danny tossed a glance behind him. Kwan stood outside the ring of bushes, alert for any sign that his help was needed. Sawyer was on his feet when Danny turned back to him. His clothes, hands, and face were grimy with dirt. His hands curled slightly at his sides like he was preparing for a fight.

Danny quickly raised his hands to show he was friendly. "You are Sawyer, right?"

"Why do you want to know?" Sawyer demanded, eyes flashing defiantly.

"I'm just here to help." Danny held his arms spread out as he took a tentative step forward.

"Help?" Sawyer's mouth pursed into a thin line. "Help with what? Why? Who are you?"

"My name is Danny." He caught Sawyer glancing behind him. "And this is my friend Kwan. We know you, uh, well-" He scratched the back of his head. Gertrude said Sawyer originally agreed to pass on before Cameron summoned him. But was Sawyer actually aware that he died? "You had a little incident recently, and-"

"I'm dead?" Sawyer sneered. "Yeah, I figured that out. Thanks."

"I was just trying to be gentle." Danny raised his hands. "I know it can be difficult for some."

"How could _you_ possible know?"

"I-" Danny sighed. "I may not know exactly how difficult it is." He shifted in a flash of light rings traversing his body into Phantom. "But I did have a traumatic experience that left me with ghost powers. And I want to help you-"

Sawyer's eyes widened, the anger fading away to be replaced by surprise and confusion. But he snapped back, recovering from the shock, with an angry glare. "How exactly can you help me?"

"I can help you move on."

"I don't," Sawyer shouted, five or six knives made of ecto energy appearing around him, "want to move on!"

A shield rose in front of Danny before he even thought about it, but the knives didn't launch an attack at him. Hearing a sound behind him, Danny snapped his gaze back to Kwan, who pulled out the blaster. He held up a hand and shouted, "Kwan, don't shoot!"

"I won't as long as he doesn't do anything with those knives," Kwan replied, appearing calm, but Danny could see a slight tremor in his arms.

"He?" Sawyer shouted in outrage. "I'm a girl!"

Kwan's arms fell slack, and his blaster lowered. Danny snapped his head back around and gaped at Sawyer. Looking at Sawyer, Danny saw a young teenage boy. He thought everyone referred to Sawyer as a boy. Or did he simply assuming they talked about Sawyer like she was a boy? He winced, nearly smacking himself.

"I'm sorry if we offended you," Danny said, bowing his head slightly. "We didn't mean to."

"Sorry," Kwan said. "I shouldn't have just assumed."

Sawyer huffed, the knives disappearing around her. "Everyone always gets it wrong. I know I look boyish, but I assure you I'm a girl. I can show you." She reached for the hem of her shirt.

"No, no!" Danny said hurriedly, dropping his shield as he rushed over to grab her hands and stop her. "I believe you."

Sawyer stared at him then shrugged, dropping her shirt. She nodded to Kwan. "Is he like you?"

"No," Danny shook his head as Kwan walked over to join them, "he's all human. If we could, we'd like to speak to you without any kind of fight."

Sawyer's eyes flickered over Kwan's body before she turned her attention back to Danny. "I wasn't looking for a fight."

"You seem to be looking for something though," Kwan commented.

Sawyer's mouth pursed tightly. "My body. It has to be here somewhere. I was a bit disoriented after being killed then there was that cat then everything went black until I woke up, I don't how long, later in the middle of the mall. By that time, the killer was gone, and when I finally got back here, my body had disappeared." She lowered her gaze, her expression softening sorrowfully. "My parents probably don't even know what happened to me. I can't move on until my parents know the truth. I don't want them to be left wondering. That's why I need to find my body."

"What about the killer?" Danny asked, his heart feeling heavy after listening to Sawyer.

"Well, sure. It'd be great if I could nab the killer and hand him over to the cops to be locked up, but," Sawyer shrugged, "I just care about my parents. Once they know what happened, I think I can move on then." Her brow furrowed, and she folded her arms. "But how did you even know about me?"

"You remember the blackout you mentioned?" Danny scratched at the back of his head as Sawyer nodded. "Well, you were summoned by a necromancer."

"W-What?" Sawyer's eyes widened with alarm.

"It's okay!" Danny added in a rush, raising his hands. "You weren't made to do anything bad. Actually, since you were the first, you were basically summoned and immediately told simply to go away." His words didn't seem to put Sawyer at ease in any sense. "You see, the person who summoned you, well, he was just a child. He didn't actually know what he was doing when he read from the book. He didn't mean you any harm. Unfortunately, it seems you remained tied to him, and he died."

"What?" Sawyer shouted with even more alarm. "That's not my fault!"

"No one's blaming you," Kwan said, trying to calm her. "You certainly had no idea what happened. And the boy, Cameron, didn't know he still had a connection to you after sending you away. Neither one of you are to blame for what happened."

"I might be to blame though," Danny confessed, lowering his gaze.

"Danny, it wasn't your fault!" Kwan placed a hand on his shoulder, but Danny shook his head.

"If I hadn't fought him when he was trying to summon me, maybe he wouldn't have been pushed over the edge!" Danny argued, angry with himself. "And that's why I needed to find you." He lifted his gaze to Sawyer, who looked a little afraid and uncertain about everything. "To get Cameron's soul back so he could live, I needed to find you, the spirit that wasn't able to move on."

Sawyer frowned. "Well, I don't want to be responsible for killing a kid. And thinking about how my parents are feeling about me being missing and how they'll feel when they know I'm dead," she hugged her arms around her body, looking away, "I don't want to be the cause of making other parents feel the pain of losing a child. So I'll go with you, but," she held up a finger, pointing at Danny, "only after my body is found."

"I can agree to that."

A smile bloomed across Sawyer's face. "Great! Let's get started then."


	41. Chapter 41

Dash was surprised when Kwan and Fenton finally returned home from their patrol. He expected to come back to an empty apartment after the students finally decided he did enough to help with setting up for the dance. His blush bloomed across his face as he recalled all the questions the seniors asked him, wanting to know embarrassing details about himself and Fenton. Why were they so interested in his and Fenton's lives? He couldn't recall being that eager to know more about any of his teachers in high school. He liked Lancer well enough, but he had little desire to think of the man's life outside of school, especially his love life.

Exhausted as he was, Dash shuffled around the kitchen as he made his dinner. Then he sat down to eat and work on grading some papers while the apartment was quiet. He was nearly done with the papers when the door opened. His gaze darted to the time on the television's clock, surprised to see it was almost eleven.

"You're getting in pretty late." Dash twisted around, resting an arm on the back of the couch as Kwan and Fenton hung up their coats. The surprise came when he saw the spirit trot into the apartment after his roommates. He jumped to his feet, his eyes widening. "You found hi-"

"Her," Kwan and Fenton quickly corrected as slightly annoyance flashed across the spirit's face.

Dash lifted his eyebrows as he glanced over the spirit. "Sorry. I didn't mean to offend."

The spirit Sawyer stuffed her hands into the pockets of the leather bomber jacket she wore. "Wow. Adults who actually apologize for using the wrong gender?" She walked farther into the apartment, her gaze sweeping over the room. "Most of my teachers still call me a boy, like it's too much trouble to remember I'm a girl despite my boyish appearance."

Dash frowned. "I'll never understand people who refuse to address people by their desired pronouns." He could think of a few teachers like that at their school. "We try to be a little more respectful of people's chosen gender identity."

"I have a kid in my class that identifies as non-gendered," Kwan said as he walked over and dropped onto the couch. "It was hard, at first, making sure I remembered to call them by the right pronoun, but after I started doing it, I stopped having to even think about it. But I guess some people are too stuck thinking of just binary genders and refuse to acknowledge that any other genders exist or that people don't always identify as the gender they were born as."

"Because they have sticks up their butts," Sawyer said bluntly with only a hint of anger tingeing her voice. Dash tried not to snort out a laugh at her response.

"That sounds like an accurate description," Fenton said as he headed for the kitchen.

Dash held up his hands. "Okay. Wait. I'm going to need you all to fill me in here." He turned to Fenton who grabbed a glass from the cabinet then filled it with water. "You found the spirit. Why haven't you sent her back?" He quickly turned to Sawyer and winced. "No offense."

Sawyer shook her head. "Hey, I get it. You've got a kid's soul hanging in the balance. I know it's not a personal thing."

Dash relaxed a little. "So what exactly is happening now? And," he glanced among the three of them, "why are you all covered in dirt?"

"Sawyer agreed to be taken to Gertrude," Fenton explained, walking back over to them. He gulped down nearly half the glass of water. "But before she goes, she wants us to locate her body."

"Is it always like this for you?" Dash wondered. "One task leading into another leading into yet another?"

Fenton shook his head then leaned down to place his glass on the table in front of the couch, careful not to put it on top of any of Dash's papers. "Not always. Sometimes it's just fighting and sucking the ghost up into the Thermos then tossing them back into the Ghost Zone. This is one of those rare cases where lots of different threads seem to have gotten woven together. This shouldn't be too hard of a task."

"If the park wasn't so big," Kwan pointed out, struggling not to yawn. "I don't think we can canvas that whole place with just us, especially when we have to work most of the day."

"Well, school does let out next week. That will give us more time." Frowning, Dash folded his arms. "But that still won't work. At least, not for us." He gestured to himself and Kwan.

"Yeah," Fenton agreed, "I'll be heading back to Amity Park for Christmas."

"You too?" Kwan jerked his head toward Fenton with surprise written on his face.

Fenton glanced between his roommates. Then he laughed, scratching the back of his head. "I don't know why I never thought about you going back to Amity Park too."

"We didn't exactly talk about it with you." Dash shrugged. He and Kwan made plans to return to Amity Park for Christmas a while back. But since it was their usual tradition, it slipped his mind to bring Fenton in on those plans. Now he felt guilty he never considered all three of them sitting down to talk about their holiday plans. Fenton, however, never mentioned anything about his own plans to them.

"If we can't find Sawyer's body by then, I'll have to stay," Fenton said, frowning. "Jazz will understand, but I don't know what I'll tell my parents." He chewed on his thumbnail like he was already trying to plan out his explanation to why he couldn't visit his parents for Christmas.

"Kwan and I could stay back," Dash offered, not even thinking about the words until they already left his mouth. Heat rose to his cheeks, creeping to the tips of his ears when they all stared at him. "I mean, to help you keep searching if we can't find her body before our flights." When Fenton smiled, Dash's stomach twisted with that butterfly feeling. He looked away, rubbing absently at the back of his neck.

"You don't have to do that." Fenton shook his head. "I don't want to ruin your Christmases."

"I don't think either of us would be able to have a good Christmas until this whole thing is resolved," Kwan confessed. "And we don't have to worry about it just yet. We have some time before the winter break starts. We could get lucky and find Sawyer's body by then."

"So are you all, like, paranormal hunters or something?" Sawyer questioned, sitting on the armrest of the couch with her head in her hands. "Is that how you all met and became roommates?"

A round of glances circulated among the three men.

"Well, it's pretty late." Fenton clapped his hands. "We have to get up early for work, so we should probably get to sleep." He covered his mouth with a hand as he yawned, but they could all tell he was faking it.

With only a few more papers to grade, Dash decided he could finish them in the morning. "Yeah," he agreed as he knelt down by the table to gather up the papers. "We can continue searching after school tomorrow."

"I could continue on my own," Sawyer suggested, though she made no move to leave her perch.

"It's good, even for ghosts and spirits, to rest every once and a while," Fenton said with his concern written clearly in the frown on his face.

"I wasn't going to run away and ditch out of our deal." Sawyer rolled her eyes. After Kwan stood, she made herself comfortable laying on the couch. "But I guess it couldn't hurt to take a night off."

Dash sighed internally, thinking about cleaning the dirt Sawyer was probably leaving all over the couch. With a shake of his head, he stood, holding the pile of papers. He could worry about cleaning up any mess later. "As welcome as you are to stay here, we will be trying to sleep. If you decide to watch any TV, please keep the volume down so it doesn't disturb us, or our neighbors."

"You got it." Sawyer grinned and saluted him.

Sawyer was still hanging around the apartment the next morning when they all woke up. She said she liked to lay low during the day, in case someone spotted her and it got back to her parents like she was still alive, so she was happy to stay in the apartment until they returned.

Their search of the park went slowly. There was too much area to canvas with only the four of them. By Friday, they all felt a little discouraged. How were they ever going to locate Sawyer's body in time? Sawyer brought up the troubling thought of: What if her body wasn't even in the park anymore? If that were true, then her body could be anywhere!

"I don't think it is," Fenton argued, frowning as he folded his arms. "It would look suspicious carrying a body out of the park. There's a high chance someone would have spotted the killer trying to transport your body somewhere else. It would be safer for the killer to stash the body somewhere in the park with less foot traffic so it would be less likely to be discovered."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Dash questioned, trying to keep his voice calm, but frustration was boiling just beneath the surface. It wouldn't be easy. It wouldn't be fast. He knew that. But it felt like they were getting nowhere, and he had the urge to hit the gym so he could punch at something.

Kwan placed a hand on Dash's shoulder, which only helped a tiny bit to calm him. "We just need to figure out another way to search. We need to be smarter about this. How far could this person have really gotten dragging a body? Maybe if we start from where the attack took place and spiraled outward from there, we'd have better luck locating where Sawyer's body is hidden."

"If I can remember where exactly that was," Sawyer mumbled, floating behind the couch and sitting crossed legs with her arms folded. "It's a bit blurry. The location. I was cutting through the park because I was already late for my curfew."

Fenton glanced at the time and sighed. "Speaking of being late," he tossed an apologetic glance to Sawyer, "we're going to be late."

Sawyer shook her head. "It's all right. Tomorrow's Saturday. We'll have more time to do some real searching then."

Fenton nodded. "I promise. We'll find your body."

Sawyer unfolded her arms, shoulders hunching slightly as she tilted her head with a small smile. "I know you will."

"Then I guess we'll see you later tonight. Unless you want to come with us?"

Sawyer shook her head. "I've got shows to catch up on." She dropped to her feet. "Now that I've got the time and can touch things." Over the time Sawyer spent with them, Fenton taught her a few basic ghostly abilities, like turning invisible which came in handy when they wanted to search the park while other people were present.

After a round of goodbyes, the three roommates left the apartment and headed down to the car. This whole situation was strange to Dash. It felt like they were parenting a teenage daughter and taking care of a cat that liked to wake him up by sleeping on his face. If he ignored that they weren't alive, he could almost think of this as some weird little family they had.

Fenton took the keys from him. Dash normally was the one to drive, but since Fenton knew the directions to where his friend lived, Dash decided to take a backseat. He relaxed, leaning back against the seat, as Fenton pulled out of the parking spot in the building's garage. It was nice not having to focus on driving and getting to watch the scenery fly past. It also left him with the chance to think, though he tried not to let his mind drift back to that idea of their odd family like situation. Kwan left him alone after Dash confessed he liked men too, to his relief. He didn't need his friend trying to push him toward seeking a man to date. He already had two possibilities in mind, though he couldn't gather the courage to pursue either.

A low whistle brought Dash out of his thoughts. When he looked out the window, he saw they parked outside a large manor. It would probably rival even Manson's parents' home. What was the deal with Fenton knowing such rich people?

"He must have married someone rich," Fenton said, as if he knew what was on Dash's mind. "He was working multiple jobs through college to help pay for things." He climbed out of the car first, and his roommates followed.

Dash caught the keys when Fenton tossed them back to him. "I wonder how he gets along with his in-laws."

"Why would you say that?" Kwan frowned at him as they walked up to the front door.

"Just, you know." Dash shrugged. "Think about it. How well do you think Manson's parents would like the man she marries if he were a simple teacher? Maybe that's just the snooty rich folks attitude they have though."

"I think Sam's parents have hated every guy she's dated." Fenton rang the doorbell. "They haven't all been about pissing off her parents though. She's had some decent boyfriends over the years." He considered for a moment. "The one she had in college not so much, but thankfully that only lasted through freshmen year before she dumped him on his sorry ass."

The door opened before Dash could decide if he wanted to know more about that boyfriend or not. The man from the swim meet greeted them with a big, jovial smile. Will Bishop dragged Fenton into a hug, forcing out a grunt from him. When Will released him, Fenton stumbled, and Kwan placed a hand on his back to help steady him.

"Oh." Will blinked when he noticed the other two men standing with Fenton. "You brought your friends," something in the way he said it made Dash narrow his eyes at him, "with you?"

"Someone," Fenton wore a crooked smirk as he glanced to Dash, "has an easy time believing in ghosts but needs a little convincing when it comes to merpeople."

Will glanced him over, and Dash clenched his fists at his sides, resisting the urge to smack some of that smugness from the man's face. Something about the man rubbed Dash the wrong way, but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly. "Oh?" A smirk tugged at Will's face. "So you've told them about me?"

Fenton rolled his eyes. "Just about you being a merman. And you can trust them not to spread it around. They'll keep your secret."

"Well," Will folded his arms, "if you've trusted them with your secret, I suppose I can trust them with mine. Now come on in." He stepped back inside, gesturing for them to follow. "Mirabelle has been eager to meet you."

"You have a lovely home," Kwan said after entering and taking a glance around the entry way.

"I feel a bit out of place sometimes." Will laughed awkwardly as he closed the front door. "I'm still not used to all the fancy furnishings. I let Mirabelle pick out everything. She has amazing taste."

"She picked you after all," Fenton teased, lightly ribbing Will with his elbow as he grinned. Dash ground his teeth.

Will chuckled, ruffling Fenton's hair. "Okay. She's downstairs. Just follow me." He led them through the kitchen which was spotless with granite countertops and looked like it could have belonged to a professional chef. From the kitchen, they headed through the door and down the stairs to the basement.

The first thing Dash noticed was the smell. It reminded him of the ocean and hanging out on the beach with his friends. He understood why after they entered the basement proper and the walls rippled with the light coming off the water in the pool that took up most of the basement.

"You have a pool in your basement?" Kwan gaped.

"Impressive," Fenton said then glanced to Will. "Contractors?"

"Mirabelle's father worked everything out when we bought the house," Will explained. "He's, uh, pretty high up in the merpeople chain."

"Do I want to ask how high up?" Fenton's eyebrows rose a notch higher.

"Probably not." Will winced, shaking his head. "Ah, there's Mirabelle." His face broke into a bright smile.

Dash snapped his head back to the pool as a figure swam closer to their end of the pool. His eyes nearly popped right out of their sockets when he saw the black tail propelling the figure forward instead of legs. He was skeptical when Fenton mentioned merpeople were real. It wouldn't surprise him if Fenton tried to mess with him about various supernatural creatures being real. But now, he couldn't deny it. There was a mermaid swimming right up to him, and he actually pinched himself to be sure this wasn't a dream.

"Welcome back, beautiful," Will greeted when Mirabelle broke the surface and leaned her folded arms on the edge of the pool. "We have some guests."

Mirabelle's green eyes darted to the other men with her husband. "So which one of you is the ghost?"

Fenton raised his hand. "That would be me." In a flash, he stood as Phantom, minus the usual jumpsuit.

"What?" Dash blinked several times after seeing Phantom wearing basically a color inverted version of what Fenton wore.

"Just a little trick I picked up over the years." Fenton scratched at his cheek which was tinged with the slightest shade of green. "Sometimes, it's nice not wearing the whole jumpsuit getup when I have to do something as Phantom. You know, like if I'm just hanging out with some ghosts instead of doing the hero thing."

"I didn't mean that like there was something wrong." Dash rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away. "It was just a shock to see you not wearing the jumpsuit." He caught a twinkle in Mirabelle's eyes before he quickly snapped his gaze away from her.

"Oh!" Will's loud shout almost made Dash jump. "I had snacks. I'll go get them."

"I'll help you," Fenton offered, following him back upstairs.

The splashing of water called Dash's attention to the pool. He glanced over as Mirabelle climbed out of the pool, the scales of her tail as it split into legs. Then he snapped his gaze away, heat rising to his cheeks when he realized she wore no clothes.

"Sorry. I thought I would return before you arrived." Mirabelle unclasped the straps around over her chest. "If you wouldn't mind watching him," she removed her son from the baby sling, "I'll get dressed." She held out the sleeping baby with a pudgy little brown face and the same flat nose as his mother. "It'll just take a moment. He doesn't get fussy too much, so don't worry about him waking up and crying because you're holding him."

Dash smiled as he took the baby, cradling him to his chest. "You have an adorable son."

"Aren't you sweet?" Mirabelle smiled before she walked off to a table by the pool where a pile of clothes sat folded.

Kwan stood next to him, hovering far too closely, to see the baby. "Where exactly did you come from though?" He lifted his gaze back to Mirabelle. "I mean, we didn't see anyone in the pool when we entered. You seemed to appear out of nowhere."

"The pool leads into the ocean. That's why we bought a place so close to the shore." Mirabelle pulled on her clothes, both Dash and Kwan averting their gazes as she did. "Well, I guess I should say my father bought it. Will and I could never afford something like this on our current salaries." She finished tying her black hair off after braiding it as she walked back over to them. Her jeans hugged her thick thighs, and she wore a loose knit plum sweater. "But the tunnel between the pool and the ocean makes traveling back and forth a lot easier. And my father won't have too much trouble coming to visit, whenever he gets the chance." She put a hand to her mouth like she was stage whispering. "He's not big on the whole walking on land thing."

"I still can't believe this is all real," Dash mumbled with a shake of his head as he passed the baby back to his mother.

"And I thought a half ghost was unbelievable." Mirabelle smirked. "So," her gaze passed between the two of them, "which one of you are dating him?"

"What?" Dash spluttered, his face darkening while Kwan imitated a fish with his gaping mouth opening and closing, but words failed him.

Mirabelle blinked then blushed with embarrassment. "Oh, I just-" She shook her head. "Sorry. I guess after some of the stories Will told me."

"What stories?" Dash asked, perhaps a bit too quickly.

"Oh, you know," Mirabelle shrugged a shoulder, her gaze averted with something wicked in her smile, "just about their time together in college. I suppose Danny's told you all about it and how they used to date."

"What?" Dash winced at the loudness of his own voice.

"They dated?" Kwan's gaze snapped back to the stairs like he expected the pair to return any second.

"Oh, he really _didn't_ say anything!" Mirabelle bit her lipped, flustered. "I thought, since he told you about being half ghost and all, that kind of information would have come up at some point in your friendship." Panic flashed across her face. "Oh no! I really made a mess of things, didn't I? I didn't mean to out him like that. Will said you all were good friends."

Dash had trouble thinking for a moment. Fenton and... Will? They dated? Fenton never even hinted at that fact. All he said was they competed with each other in swimming during college. Dash ground his teeth, anger thrumming just under the surface over this new information.

_But Fenton isn't dating anyone right now_ , his brain whispered. _And if he dated Will, that means he isn't disgusted by the idea of dating men_.

Dash tried to squash down that little voice in his head. Even if he now had confirmation that Fenton liked men, it didn't mean Fenton would like him. In all honesty, Dash imagined Fenton was more likely to be attracted to someone like Kwan, who was far nicer and overall compatible than Dash could ever hope to be.

"You aren't worried?" Kwan questioned, almost sounding hesitant. "I mean, they dated, and now they're alone." His gaze drifted back to the stairs. "And taking their time with those snacks."

"Oh, no." Mirabelle shook her head. "I wouldn't worry about that. They only dated for roughly a month. And from what Will told me, their relationship was mostly a physical attraction. But they ended things because, well, Danny realized he wanted a relationship built off more than just sex. Will says they never really could connect on other levels of a relationship. I think what he wanted was this. Isn't that right, Noah?" Her voice did that thing it did when all parents talked to their babies as she made goofy faces. Her son Noah wiggled in her arms, making squeaky little noises. "I don't mean children," Mirabelle added when she lifted her gaze. Dash guessed he and Kwan must have shown some sign of panic. "I mean a loving family. Whether or not that includes children, I don't know. But he definitely wants a real relationship, one that goes beyond just sex, with someone."

"Honestly thought that was what he had going with Hayley," Dash admitted, rubbing his neck as he frowned. If things couldn't work with Hayley, did Dash even have a hope of a chance?

"Oh, looks like the snacks have arrived." Mirabelle smiled, looking past the two of them.

Dash turned to see Fenton and Will returning with platters of sandwiches and fruit. Why did Fenton look flustered?

"Come," Will said, walking past them. "Let's eat."

Will led the way over to the table where they could sit and eat as they talked. Dash joined the rest at the table, trying not to let his thoughts distract him too much from the conversation happening around him.


	42. Chapter 42

Kwan rubbed at his eyes, struggling to concentrate on his work. They only stayed for about an hour before bidding goodbye to Will and his wife, and they arrived back home before it got too dark outside. Since they decided to take the night off in their search, Kwan thought it was a good time to continue the work he was doing with Danny on the ghost shield. They were making good progress on it, utilizing the original designs Danny's parents created. But tonight, he found himself distracted from the project.

"Hey."

Something cold and solid pressed against the side of his head. Kwan nearly jumped out of his seat. "Oh," he said when he glanced up to see Danny holding out a bottle of water for him, "thanks." He took the bottle then twisted off the cap to take a much needed gulp from it.

"I thought we could use a break." Danny sat down next to him, placing a bowl of chips with melted cheese between them. "Dash and Sawyer are arguing about some show they're watching. I have no idea what it was all about, but I think they're getting along pretty well."

"Dash takes his shows very seriously." Kwan nodded. Though he tried to maintain a cool expression, a smirk managed to crack it, but it earned him a chuckle from Danny. He reached forward, snagging a chip from the bowl. As they ate, Kwan thought back to their visit to Will's house. He glanced over to Danny, his gaze lazily drifting down then up again. "I still can't believe it," he mumbled, shaking his head.

"Believe what?" Danny turned to him, a dribble of cheese caught in the corner of his mouth. His tongue darted out briefly to lick up that bit of cheese.

"Uh," Kwan averted his gaze, "just that merpeople exist. I mean, in Amity Park, ghosts became such a common thing that it was impossible to say you don't believe in them. But merpeople? I just never imagined my life would involve anything stranger than ghosts."

A smirk tugged at Danny's mouth. "I know what you mean. I didn't think my life could get any stranger. Then I left Amity Park to go to college, and suddenly I had a lot more to worry about than just ghosts. But," he shrugged, "it's not like it's all bad. Sure, there have been some nasty creatures along the way. But then there's also nice creatures, like Will. If nothing else, at least I can say my life will never be boring, right?"

Kwan smiled in response, but it slowly fell into a frown. "Just promise you'll be careful not to let that interesting stuff - Uh, well, just be careful," he finished lamely with a smile that probably looked more like a grimace.

"I'll be careful." Danny wasn't trying to humor him. Kwan could tell by the serious expression on his face.

"Good." Kwan turned back to the ghost shield with a quick bob of his head. Danny did the same, a small wrinkle of concentration forming between his eyebrows as he focused on his work. After shooting a few glances his way, Kwan chewed on his lower lip until his inquisitive mind couldn't stay silent any longer. "So, um," he fiddled with the part of the ghost shield he was working on, "what other kinds of creatures have you encountered?"

"Ah, well," Danny considered his response, tapping the handle of a screwdriver against his chin, "I guess the first one I encountered was a werewolf. That might sound a little cliché." He winced. "It was a whole misunderstanding. She turned out to be pretty nice. There were a few harpies, nasty bunch. Those ones at least. That's where I got this." He lifted his shirt enough to trace a line across his belly with his finger. "Oh, and there was an ogre I dated once. I mean, she was sweet, but it was hard to get past the odor. It practically burned all my nose hair out." He rubbed at his nose like the stinging odor clung inside his nostrils.

"I hope it wasn't a bad break up." Kwan cringed, thinking it was probably a good thing Danny had ghost powers if the ogre had far superior strength.

"She was planning to move anyway." Danny sipped from his water bottle. "Apparently, ogres have their own weight lifting competitions. It would be far too easy to win against humans. She moved to Europe to take part in some big tournament. I think she was consider the sixth strongest of the competitors."

Kwan whistled. "That's pretty impressive."

Danny nodded as he tinkered with part of the shield. Then he glanced to Kwan, and his mouth curled just slightly upward in a smirk that left Kwan flustered. "What about you? Did you have any crazy romances?"

Kwan shook his head with a small snort of a laugh. "Nothing as crazy as yours, I'm sure."

"Come on." Danny grinned as he prodded Kwan in the side with the handle end of the screwdriver. "I know you dated Valerie and Star. But I'm sure there are plenty of others you could talk about."

"Not really. I dated someone in college, but," Kwan shrugged, "it wasn't anything serious. I think we only had about eight or nine dates over our freshmen year. Then she dumped me at the end of the year, saying something about how I was too cold and distant."

"What?" Danny nearly dropped the screwdriver as his mouth hung open in shock. "I don't believe that! You're one of the kindest people I've ever known!"

A blush crept onto Kwan's cheek as he tried to keep focus on his work. "I, uh, well, I don't know," he mumbled, refusing to look over at Danny. "I think I wasn't a very good boyfriend to her." For a period of his life, he tried to forget about his feelings for Dash and find someone who would love him back. Forcing himself to like someone else didn't work out too well. He thought if he could just make himself love someone else, maybe he could be happy. Instead, it only made him feel more miserable. His gaze drifted over to Danny. Maybe things would have worked out if he met up with Danny again back then. "Then there was this guy I dated a few years later. It - I thought we were doing well." His nose wrinkled up as he frowned. "That is until his girlfriend came up to me and slapped me." He rubbed at his cheek like he could still feel the sting from it.

"Ouch!" Danny winced. "I'm sorry."

"No reason for you to be sorry." Kwan offered a small smile. "I actually thought he was a decent man. I guess he was only decent at lying about himself."

"That's terrible. You deserve better than that." Danny leaned over, wrapping an arm around Kwan in a half hug as he rested his head against Kwan's shoulder. "Sometimes, I just want to be past the whole dating thing."

Kwan bit the inside of his cheek. He was not looking at Danny or the way, from this angle, his eyelashes looked longer and almost brushed his cheek. _Ugh, I'm sounding like one of those characters from Dash's romance shows_ , he thought, stomping down on those stray thoughts. "It would be nice to have someone to just spend my nights with and not have to worry about the whole dating thing."

"Yeah," Danny agreed, still leaning on him, "that sounds nice." Then he jerked upright again, perhaps realizing what he was doing. "Uh, so, the ghost shield. Should we give it a test?"

Kwan raised an eyebrow. "No comment about my last relationship?"

Danny turned his head and blinked. "Oh, about you dating a guy?" He shrugged. "Were you expecting a big reaction from me? Some shouting and angry words? It's cool. I'm bisexual too. Though I guess it's been a while since I've dated a guy. Last one was probably Will in college. Though it wasn't really much of a, um, emotional relationship."

Kwan hoped he looked surprised by the news. "Will? Really? It must have been weird meeting up with him again."

"Yeah," Danny laughed awkwardly. "I definitely didn't expect to run into him at the meet. But I'm happy he has a good family."

"They seem pretty happy." Kwan turned back to the ghost shield, feeling a little relief after mentioning his sexuality to Danny. Though he tended to think he leaned more toward gay than bisexual, he still considered Valerie the most beautiful woman he ever met. He thought himself lucky to have dated her, even for a little while. "So, the shield? We're giving it a try?"

Danny smiled. "Yup. Flip the switch."

Kwan nodded, but he held his breath as he reached for the switch. This wouldn't be their first attempt at starting up the ghost shield. Luckily, they were able to put out the small fire before it got bigger after the last attempt. Frowning, he almost regretted they were working on it in his room. He steeled himself then flipped the switch and immediately jerked his arm back in case something went wrong. They sat silently in front of his desk, watching the machine. Nothing happened.

"Uh," Kwan said uncertainly, tearing his gaze away to look at Danny, "did it work?"

"Only one way to find out." After a blinding flash, Danny sat next to him as Phantom. Like at Will's house, Danny didn't bother to change into his usual Phantom jumpsuit, instead wearing his regular clothes only with inverted colors. He reached out a hand, but before he could touch the device, he snapped his hand back. He hissed and shook out his hand. "Ouch! I'd say that works now."

Kwan tried not to immediately jump up with excitement. "But can you pass through it as human?"

After he returned to human, Danny waved his hand around where he encountered the shield. Then he reached farther forward until he could touch the ghost shield. "It seems to be working. Humans are fine to pass through it, but ghosts can't."

"Yes!" Kwan let out a little whoop of success, almost unable to believe it. He worked on little projects here and there, but never anything ghost related. He worried he would only be a hindrance working on the ghost shield, but Danny explained everything well enough that it was easy to pick up, helping to make the work go a bit quicker.

"Now we just need to boost the power to expand the range to cover the school." Danny grinned as he slapped a hand to Kwan's shoulder. "I don't think I could have finished this on my own."

"I only helped a little." Kwan rubbed awkwardly at his neck.

Danny frowned, staring seriously into Kwan's eyes. "You helped more than a little. No arguing." He pointed a finger to warn Kwan not to try arguing the point. Then he leaned back and stretched his arms over his head. "Okay. I think this is a good place to stop for the night. It's getting pretty late too."

Kwan glanced over to see his clock sitting on the shelf across from his bed. When he saw the time, he winced. It was creeping closer to midnight, and though tomorrow was Saturday, they planned to search the park for most of the day. "I didn't even realize it had gotten so late."

Danny chuckled, a hint of pink coloring his cheeks. "Yeah," he shrugged, darting his gaze away, maybe embarrassed about something, "I guess time really got away from us. Well, I guess I'll catch you in the morning." He frowned, his brow creasing in consideration. "There's something I want to take care of in the morning, but it shouldn't take too long. I might get up early to do it."

"Well, if you need any help-"

"Nope!" Danny shook his head with a nervous smile. "No help needed for this."

"Oh, okay." Kwan deflated slightly with disappointment. Dash sometimes liked to point out that Kwan was too eager to please people. Kwan guessed that was the reason he thought Dash seemed to act protective of him, because Dash didn't want him to be taken advantage of for his good nature. "Well, if you decide you need the help." Kwan shrugged a shoulder.

Danny bobbed his head. "I'll keep that in mind." He walked toward the door with Kwan following after him.

"Well, good night." Kwan stood awkwardly in front of Danny, neither of them making any move to open the door.

Danny shifted, his gaze never seeming to settle. Was he biting his lip? Then his eyes snapped to the left. "Night!" He nearly banged into the door as he opened it. His cheeks flared red as he mumbled another, "Night!" Then he closed the door behind him.

"Aw! I totally thought you'd kiss!"

Kwan jumped when someone talked right by his ear. Twisting around, a hand slapped over his rapidly beating heart, he found Sawyer floating like she was laying down on a flat surface with her chin resting in her hands. Her lower lip jutted out just slightly in a disappointed pout.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that." Kwan took deep breaths, trying to calm his heart. His brow creased as he looked her over. "Did you change?"

Sawyer sat up, folding her legs beneath her as she looked over the outfit. Her pants were now dark plaid with black, purple, and white striped suspenders over a dark gray shirt with a skeleton playing a saxophone. The leather bomber jacket remained the same. With a shrug, she lifted her gaze back to him.

"I felt like a change, so Danny showed me how to do it."

Kwan nodded as he checked on the ghost shield, making sure it was properly turned off for the night. "I thought you were busy watching shows with Dash."

"For a while. Then he decided to hit the hay." A sneaky grin slipped onto Sawyer's face. "So, did you think about kissing him at all?"

"Dash?" Kwan tried to hide his flush as he put away the tools they used.

"I actually meant Danny, but Dash works too." Sawyer floated close enough to poke Kwan in the arm as she grinned. "Are you planning on kissing either of them anytime soon?"

"You," Kwan nearly dropped one of the screwdrivers in his flustered state, "sure are curious about this, aren't you?"

Sawyer hunched her shoulders, her cheeks tingeing pink. "I may not look it, but I like a good romance as much as the next person. And it totally seemed like you were wanting to kiss Danny just now. Or at least, from an outside prospective."

"I-" Kwan shook his head. "Maybe? I don't know." He raked a hand through his hair. "I'm just confused about things." Since high school, despite attempts to move on, his feelings were always for Dash. But Danny managed to worm his way into Kwan's thoughts. It wasn't difficult to imagine himself having a relationship with Danny, especially after having it confirmed that he was bisexual. Would Danny even see him as a potential romantic interest? He chewed on his lip, a sick feeling churning inside him at the thought of being rejected by either Dash or Danny.

"As someone who never even got a first kiss, I would suggest not passing up the chance to confess your feelings to someone you like," Sawyer said seriously.

Kwan glanced back over to her. "Was there someone you liked?"

Sawyer shrugged, sadness in her eyes. "It would have been nice to see if it was something. But they probably didn't even notice me. I wasn't exactly super popular."

"If this is rude of me, you don't have to answer. But how come you didn't have any close friends? I just mean, everyone we talked to seemed to at least know of you, saw you around school and stuff, but no one would really say they were friends with you."

Sawyer looked away, perhaps trying to hide any kind of emotion she might let slip. "I was always kind of the weirdo at school. I was adopted. By two women. And well," she looked down at her shirt with the saxophone playing skeleton, "I've always had this interest in dead bodies. I don't mean that in a creepy way!" She shot a panicked look at him. "One of my moms does the autopsies for the police, and my other mom does anthropology. So I guess I kind started taking an interest in that kind of stuff because of them. And I guess my classmates didn't exactly want to hang around with the death girl."

"Well, I think you're a pretty cool kid." Kwan grinned as he ruffled her hair.

"Oh, great. An adult thinks I'm cool." Sawyer rolled her eyes, a little over dramatically, but then she grinned. "I guess you're kind of cool too. For an adult."

"Oh good! I've achieved my greatest goal: to be a cool adult." Kwan wore his cheesiest grin, and Sawyer rolled her eyes as she pushed his shoulder lightly. "Okay. It's time I get some rest, like all boring adults."

"It's still kind of weird. Not sleeping." Sawyer frowned. "I mean I can, I guess, but I don't really feel the need. It's just weird."

"We're not going to stop until we've found your body," Kwan promised.

"I know. You all don't have to keep saying it. I trust you all." Sawyer ducked her head, picking at the cuff on one sleeve of her jacket. "I - You all really didn't even have to do all of this for me. It's not like you ever knew me when I was alive. Though I guess you're only really helping me because of the kid. Not that I blame you. My life is already gone. He can still be saved."

"We would help even without Cameron's soul hanging in the balance. You deserve to be able to rest in peace, or whatever it is that happens to spirits. And your parents deserve to know what happened."

Sawyer's mouth twitched, almost smiling. "Well, this is getting all sappy. I guess I should let you boring adult types get your sleep." She hesitated a moment. Then she swooped toward him, giving him a quick hug before she vanished through the bedroom door.

Kwan stared at the spot where she disappeared. More than ever, he wanted to find Sawyer's body. Tomorrow was Saturday, giving them a full day to search the park. He prayed they had better luck than their previous attempts to find Sawyer's body. Covering a yawn with his hand, he prepared for bed.


	43. Chapter 43

Danny chewed on his lip as he listened to the phone ring, waiting for the person he called to pick up. With everything happening lately, his mind felt like it was caught in a whirlwind, leaving him grappling with his thoughts as well as his emotions. What was he supposed to do when he found himself falling for two different people? He never had this dilemma in the past, but he pushed those thoughts away. His complicated love life could wait. His main focus needed to be finding Sawyer's body before the deadline passed. But one concern remained at the front of his mind. 

"Danny?" Tucker sounded groggy, like he just woke up to the obnoxious ringtone of his phone and had to fumble around blindly for it. "I know it's Saturday, but some people like to sleep in."

"Isn't it almost noon for you?" Danny quirked an eyebrow upward, even though his friend couldn't see it.

"In, like, an hour. Anyway I had a late night. Some idiot nearly ruined eight months of work, and I had to work overtime to correct the damage to the programming."

Danny winced. "Must be tough."

"Yeah, well, I told them Andrew wasn't ready for this level of work. But do they listen? No!"

"And you, of course, had to suffer the consequences. Sorry about that."

Tucker released a long, drawn out, exhausted sigh. "Well, it's done now. So," some rustling on his end suggested he sat up in bed, "what did you need? Some help with your ghost problems?"

"Not," Danny rubbed at his neck, "exactly." Then he sighed. Even without a response, he could tell his friend was confused. "I mean, unless you can write a program to locate a missing body or something."

"That's an odd request. Even from you. But you could just use a dog for that, couldn't you? If you had something from the person for the dog to sniff out. If you don't, I can see why you're having a problem."

Danny stopped walking, his mouth dropping open. A woman bumped into his shoulder as she passed him, but Danny didn't even notice the glance of annoyance she sent him. "Why didn't I think of that?" He hung his head, rubbing at his forehead. "I've had so much going on, I can't even think straight!" After they found Sawyer, he could have called Cujo to sniff out her body. They could have saved so much time that way!

"Are you feeling okay?" Worry crept into Tucker's voice. "You seem a bit distracted."

"Yeah, I-" Danny sighed as he continued walking down the street, casting glances into the shop windows he passed. "I've been wracking my brain trying to think up what to get Dash and Kwan for Christmas, and I keep coming up with nothing."

Tucker snorted. "And you thought I was a good choice to ask for advice? I don't even know anything about them. Not really. And it's still crazy to me that you're living with them. How have you not gone insane? Do they ask a million questions about your random disappearances?"

"Uh, well-" Danny chewed on his lip, his stomach twisting until he felt nauseous. He tried to keep his friends in the loop about things going on in his life, but he sometimes left out a few details, specifically the ones he feared would make them angry. "They, um, know?" It came out sounding more like a question, and Danny cringed at the slight break in his voice.

"What?" Tucker shouted so loudly Danny held the phone away from his ear. "What do you mean they know?"

Danny exhaled tiredly. He knew this conversation needed to come up sooner or later. But he kind of hoped for much, _much_ later. Now it was too late to back out of having the conversation. "I told them. I know," he continued before Tucker could get in a word, "that was probably a crazy, stupid idea, but I figured if we're going to make this whole living arrangement work, having them in the know would make things easier on all of us. And," he shrugged, "I trust them with this secret. They're not the same as when we were in high school. They've really grown up and changed."

Tucker breathed out, and Danny could imagine him shaking his head as he did so. "I think you're nuts for trusting them, but it's your decision in the end. And it's already done."

"So, um," Danny glanced into another shop window, "what do you think about Christmas gifts?"

"I don't know. Wouldn't Valerie be a better choice to ask about this?"

Seeing nothing of interest in the shop, Danny continued down the street. "Probably, but the call didn't go through. I think she turned her phone off while training."

"Well," Tucker sighed, "I can't really offer much help. I don't know enough about them to say what they would or wouldn't like. Maybe there are some kind of books they like? Wait." He chuckled. "Can Dash even read?"

"Dash isn't stupid!" Danny snapped furiously, his eyes flashing green. He caught a few people glancing his way after his outburst, and he flushed darkly with embarrassment, ducking his head.

"I might be reading too much into that." Tucker was definitely frowning. "But you seem awfully defensive of Dash. Is there more going on that you're not telling me?"

Danny's stomach did some kind acrobatic flip, and his throat went dry. "Um-" He hesitated in his response. This was another conversation he planned on avoiding for as long as possible. How would his friend react? Tucker already knew Danny was bisexual. But dating men he met in college was a lot different than confessing to having feelings for the guys who used to bully him in high school.

"Spill it, Danny."

He flinched at the sharp tone in his friend's voice. Licking his lips nervously, Danny confessed, "There's a slight possibility that I like him."

"Danny!" Tucker's shout was more scandalized than outraged.

"I know. I know. But," Danny cringed, "it's worse than that."

"How could it possibly be worse?"

"I, uh, may also like Kwan." Danny doubted his face could turn any redder. It already felt like his cheeks were on fire. Recalling his private conversation with Will didn't help to reduce the blush. Danny only meant to offer his help in retrieving the snacks Will prepared. He didn't expect the ambush from Will, asking if he was still seeing that woman or if he decided to give it a go with one of his roommates. His answers were nothing more than flustered splutters. He almost wanted to avoid answering altogether, but either way, he suspected Will would keep pestering him. After Danny confessed he broke it off with Hayley, Will kept trying to figure out which of his roommates Danny was most interested in dating.

"Danny, how - That's - Oh man! Sam is probably going to go nuts when you tell her about this."

"Yeah, and Jazz will probably want to ask a million questions to psycho analyze me." Danny huffed. He loved his sister, but sometimes the psychologist part of her could be overbearing.

"Yeah, probably." Tucker chuckled. "So what are you going to do? Which one are you going to go after?"

"Oh, no. No, no, no." Danny shook his head. "Are you crazy? I mean, first of all, do you really think there is any chance in hell of Dash liking me back? Second, I really don't want to mess up what I have going here. I actually have a friendship going with these guys. I don't want to ruin that."

"Which is why you're stressing yourself out about what to get them for Christmas?"

Danny flushed. "Stop grinning. I know you're grinning. I just want to get them something nice. What would it say about how I think of our friendship if I don't get them something? Or if I get them something stupid like a pen?"

"Good point. I can't say I see Dash being happy about any guy liking him. But I'm going off what I know of him from high school. You didn't get me a pen for Christmas, did you?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Of course not. But depending on how things go with my latest ghost problem, your gift might be late. I can't leave here until I've finished with this case. It's on a deadline."

"Hey, we all get it. We know your duty as Phantom comes first. Football!"

"Uh, what?" Danny blinked at the sudden exclamation.

"Football! Dash and Kwan both played in high school. I assume they still enjoy the sport. Maybe you could find some cool football thing from their favorite player or team or something. Maybe not the greatest idea, but I'm going off what little I know about them."

"No, it's a good idea! I just have to think of what I could possibly get them." Danny chewed on his thumbnail, debating ideas for what to get as gifts.

"You'll come up with something." Tucker yawned. "Hey, Danny."

"Yeah?" Danny pulled his thumb away from his mouth.

"If you do hook up with either of them, well, you've got my support."

Danny smiled. "Thanks. It's probably not going to happen, but thanks."

"Don't give up on it too soon. They'd be lucky to have a great guy like you as a boyfriend."

Danny rolled his eyes. "And any woman you date is getting an amazing boyfriend."

"I know." Tucker was definitely grinning. "And now that I'm fully awake, I should really get some food in my stomach and take a look at my work e-mail, in case there's any other problems that will need my genius to correct."

"Then I guess I should let you go. I should get this gift buying stuff wrapped up quickly and get back to my ghost case too."

"You'll figure it out. You always do."

"Yeah, after I run around acting stupid for far too long." The corner of Danny's mouth twitched, but sometimes he still felt like the same stupid fourteen year old he was when he first got his powers.

"That's not always true. Or at least not as much as you used to."

"Gee, thanks," Danny muttered sarcastically.

"You know I'm just teasing. I guess I'll see you at Christmas. Unless you end up not making it."

"I'll do my best to be there." After their goodbyes, Danny slipped his phone back into his pocket. He had one more shop to visit before he could call his Christmas shopping done. Crossing the street, he headed for a sports store he spotted and hoped he could find something his roommates would like there.

When he stepped out of the store after doing his shopping, Danny checked the time and winced. He spent more time looking for Christmas presents than he originally thought. Guilt settled inside him like a heavy weight. Sawyer and Cameron were both depending on him doing his job, but here Danny was wasting his time on Christmas presents. All of his focus should be on finding Sawyer's body.

Picking up his pace, Danny hurried back to the apartment. If he had to, he would search every inch of that park until the clock chimed midnight to ring in the new year. He would skip out on sleeping and devote every second possible to ensure his best chance of locating Sawyer's body, for her sake, for her parents' sake, and for the sake of Cameron and his family.

Too much was depending on him. Danny had to pause in front of the door to their apartment to catch his breath. His chest felt tight, and he knew it was because he was piling too much pressure on himself. If Tucker, Sam, or his sister were here, they would knock some sense into him and remind him that he could rely on others to help him. Far too often, he acted like he had to do everything on his own. It was a flaw of his, but it was a habit he found difficult to break. Vlad would scoff and mockingly say it was because of his silly hero complex. Valerie would ignore him and charge right in and do whatever she felt was necessary, even if he didn't ask for her help.

A smile tugged at his mouth, and he felt a little lighter. He had good friends he could count on when he needed it. He simply had to remember to reach out and ask for the help.

After taking one more breath to calm himself, Danny pushed open the apartment door. "I'm back," he announced as he closed the door behind him. "Sorry it took me so long." He walked farther into the apartment then stopped. It was far too silent, and no one bothered to even respond to him. "Hello?"

Danny set his bags down on the table in front of the couch. Then he wandered toward the bedroom doors. He knocked on one, calling out, "Kwan?" Then he tried the other, saying Dash's name a little louder. He scratched at the back of his head, wondering why his roommates weren't home.

Avery phased through the door of Dash's room, where they seemed to enjoy sleeping much of the day. This was probably the first time in centuries the cat was able to have a break from their duty of collecting the spirits of the dead. Danny thought he would probably spend his days sleeping comfortably too if he were the cat. Avery stretched their paws out in front of them with their butt wiggling in the air.

"I don't suppose you know where they all went." Danny frowned, but Avery merely meowed up at him. "Of course you're no help." He didn't even know why he bothered to question the cat. "Well, they wouldn't just go somewhere without leaving some kind of message behind." Kwan, at the very least, was far too considerate to leave with no word of where they went.

Danny walked back over to the table, but after a quick glance, he saw no note. He even lifted his bags to check under them. Next he tried the kitchen, and there he found a note pinned under a robot magnet on the refrigerator. He pulled the note free to read it. Avery hopped up onto the counter then leaped onto his shoulder like they wanted to read the note too. The action nearly startled Danny, but he managed to keep himself from going intangible.

"They went to the park," Danny mumbled, staring at the words on the note. "I guess that was the smart move. They don't necessarily need me to search the park." He glanced over to Avery. "Interested in taking a trip to the park?"

Avery stared almost like they were saying, "That's why I'm here, idiot."

"Okay. Okay." Danny set the note on the kitchen counter on his way to the door. "You don't have to give me your death glare." He left the apartment with Avery still draped over his shoulder.


	44. Chapter 44

Dash checked the time, frowned, then continued to pace in front of the couch. "I thought we were supposed to spend today searching the park. Where is he?" Fenton left the apartment earlier that morning, saying he had something to do, but he wouldn't tell them what before he was out the door. Now it was creeping closer to ten in the morning, and Fenton hadn't returned yet. Dash ground his teeth in frustration.

"Whatever he had to do must be important," Kwan said from the kitchen. "Otherwise, he would have put it off until we found Sawyer's body."

"Can you stop pacing?" Sawyer lay on the couch, using one armrest as a pillow. "You're annoying Avery." The cat was curled up on Sawyer's stomach. Their eyes watched Dash as their tail twitched irritably, almost like they were getting ready to pounce on something.

Dash hoped Avery wasn't thinking about attacking his feet. "Sorry," he mumbled, stopping as he raked a hand through his blond locks. "I just hate waiting around and doing nothing."

"I know what you mean. But what do you plan to do?" Kwan finished putting some things into a messenger bag then closed the flap. "Did you want to go to the park without him?"

Dash frowned, lowering his hand to rub at the back of his neck. He hadn't actually considered doing anything other than simply waiting for Fenton to return from whatever he was doing.

"Why not?" Sawyer asked, giving Avery little scratches behind their ears. Avery's eyelids drooped, and a purr rumbled from them. When the two adults stared at her, Sawyer shrugged. "What? We don't exactly need Danny's ghost powers to search, right? Maybe we can at least figure out where my murder took place while waiting on Danny. You can always contact him later to let him know where we are."

"She does bring up a good point." Dash tossed his gaze to Kwan. "We are wasting valuable time just sitting around here waiting on him. I don't think he'd mind us getting a head start. It's not like we're charging off to fight some big bad ghost unprepared without him."

"Okay. Okay." Kwan held up a hand to stop him. "You don't need to try so hard to convince me. I want to help out Sawyer just as much as you do." He searched through the kitchen drawers. Finding a pad of paper, he quickly jotted down a small note then pinned it to the refrigerator using a robot magnet. "Do we have any thoughts on where we'll start?" He picked up the messenger bag and slung it over one shoulder.

"What's with the bag?" Dash focused too much on his pacing and time checking to notice what Kwan busied himself with in the kitchen during that time.

Kwan blinked then turned his gaze away, a soft pink blooming on his cheeks. Perhaps it was silly that Dash was only just noticing how cute his friend was when he got all flushed with embarrassment. Why didn't he ever notice before? But it was like one of those romantic comedies he liked to watch. During the course of the movie, one of them would eventually realize they were in love with the other, even after being long time friends. This was kind of like that. Wasn't it? Love wasn't always at first sight. Sometimes, it sneaked up on a person over time without their realizing it.

"Well, I figured we'd be spending most of the day at the park," Kwan explained, scratching behind one ear. "So I thought I'd pack us some snacks. Maybe we could have a little picnic during a break in our search. We won't be able to keep our search up very long if we're all running on empty."

Dash walked over then slapped a hand onto his friend's shoulder. "I don't know what I would do without you." He imagined he would be working at a gas station, living in a pathetic and disgusting apartment, and still have some anger issues. He didn't say any of that out loud because he knew it would only embarrass the both of them to admit how much Kwan had affected his life.

Kwan merely rolled his eyes and gave Dash a shove toward the door. "Yeah, yeah. You'd be lost without me. Let's get going."

"What do you say?" Sawyer asked, holding Avery up so their noses nearly touched. "Up for a trip to the park?"

Avery meowed grumpily then phased through her hold. Sawyer sat up, leaning on the back of the couch as she watched Avery disappear into Dash's bedroom.

"I'd probably sleep all day too if I were a cat," Dash joked as he opened the door.

"Sounds like a plan for our next day off," Kwan said, grabbing their coats before he followed after him. "When we don't have anything else important to take care of, of course."

Once they were outside of the apartment, Sawyer vanished from sight. Even though no one in the building would know her, she preferred not taking the risk that someone would recognize her and somehow relay it back to her parents. The only way they knew she was with them was the cold touch of her hand seeping through their coats.

Their trip to the park was uneventful. It was hit or miss whether the park would be empty or not. It was Saturday, which suggested families might decide to go to the park for the day. But it was still fairly early in the morning, and people might decide to sleep in or wait until a little later in the day. It was also late December, the weather having grown quite chilly. The ground was covered in a layer of frost from the morning dew freezing over. If Sawyer's body was buried somewhere, it might be difficult to dig her body up because the ground would be hard from the cold.

Dash ground his teeth, hating this whole situation. Sawyer and her parents didn't deserve any of this. He must have made a face, because Kwan elbowed him in the side and shot him a quick glare. Dash relaxed, to the best of his ability. Getting angry wasn't going to help them find Sawyer's body.

"You said you couldn't recall exactly where you were killed," Kwan said softly as they walked through the park. So far, they only spotted one other couple, who seemed to be bird watching, but Kwan didn't want to risk anyone overhearing their conversation.

"Right," Sawyer answered, floating between them so it was easy for them both to hear her. "It all happened so quickly."

"But maybe we can trace your steps," Kwan suggested. "If we do that, we might be able to figure out the general area where you could have been killed. From there, we can expand our search outward and hopefully locate your body."

"Well, it sounds better than just randomly searching like we have been." Sawyer didn't sound too convinced by the plan, but no one else had any better suggestions. She directed them to where she entered the park then guided them along the path she used as a short cut to get home. They walked like that for about twenty minutes before Sawyer fell silent.

"Sawyer?" Dash asked, panic almost rising into his voice at the thought that she left them. He no longer felt her hand holding onto his arm.

"Oh, sorry. I just - I think this was the spot."

Dash glanced around the area. It was a bit off the usual path, and the nearest lamp was several feet off. Even if anyone else was in the park that night, they likely wouldn't have seen Sawyer standing here in the dark. If it happened too quickly and Sawyer didn't even get out a scream, someone could have easily passed by without knowing anything terrible happened several feet off the path.

"I doubt the killer would have gone that way," Dash said, pointing toward the lamp and path. "Going that way would put him too much at risk of being seen. He would want to take a less visible path to hide the body."

Kwan nodded in agreement. "I was thinking that too." His gaze swept over the area behind them. "I'll take this direction." He pointed to his chosen direction.

"Then I'll go this way." Dash nodded a little more to left of the direction Kwan chose.

"I guess that leaves the last for me."

They each set off in their directions away from the lit path. Dash kept his eyes on the ground, looking for any spot that looked like the earth was disturbed recently. He poked at the bushes, but it was unlikely Sawyer's body would be hidden in such an obvious place. Even if the leaves of the bushes managed to hide the body, the smell of a rotting corpse wouldn't be so easily disguised for someone passing close by. He zigzagged over the area as he progressed farther away from their starting point. Half an hour later, he was growing frustrated with finding nothing to even hint at where Sawyer's body might be. Was Kwan having better luck?

Dash stopped when he heard a soft sobbing. Cautiously, he inched forward, trying to do his best not to make any loud noises. When he rounded a tree with a wide trunk, he was surprised to find a teenager sitting there with her legs drawn up and her face buried in her knees. Her red hair hung down, draping over the puffy, pale blue coat she wore.

Dash looked around, but they were basically alone in this part of the park. Finding Sawyer's body was important but Dash couldn't in good conscious simply walk away from this woman. He coughed to get her attention. When she lifted her head, Dash was stunned. She was the same woman from the teen hangout that overlooked the town. But more surprising than her identity was the angry looking bruise coloring the left side of her face. She quickly pulled her red hair forward, trying to cover up the black eye. Dash gritted his teeth, his fists clenching tightly at his sides.

"Oh, you were there that-"

"Your _boyfriend_ do that?" When she flinched, Dash realized his tone was much harsher than he meant. "I'm sorry." He crouched down in front of her, offering the most apologetic look he could muster. "I didn't mean to scare you. But that," he gestured to her hidden black eye, "was done by your boyfriend, right?"

"It-" She looked away, lowering her gaze as she twisted the ends of her hair around one finger. "I shouldn't have said anything. I knew it would just make him mad. B-But I just hate this." She clapped her hands over her mouth, trying to muffle her sob as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault," Dash said firmly. "Nothing you say or do gives him the right to hurt you in any way."

Her body trembled as she tried to hold back her tears. "I just keep seeing it in my head. And I hate myself because it was my fault."

Dash's brow creased slightly. "What exactly do you think is your fault?"

She looked up, panic in her eyes. "Oh, no! No, no! I shouldn't say." She shook her head.

"It might make you feel better to talk about it." Dash practically winced at how clichéd that sounded, but he knew how hard it could be to talk about something, especially when it involved abuse. "It doesn't have to be with me."

"I-" She broke down sobbing into her knees. Dash reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. After several minutes, she managed to recover enough to try speaking again. "I killed someone!"

Dash's mouth nearly dropped open in shock at her statement. He couldn't believe it. It wasn't because of some silly notion that women were incapable of committing murder. Staring at the woman crying so hard her body shook and with her eyes all red and puffy, Dash couldn't imagine her having the strength of will to actually kill someone. What he believed, however, wasn't important at the moment. She clearly believed her own statement. Telling her she must be mistaken wouldn't help him gain any further information from her. In fact, she might close herself off from him if he blurted out how outrageous he thought her statement was.

"Hey," Dash said gently, giving her shoulder a light, comforting squeeze. Despite his best attempts, he couldn't recall her name, though he knew it came up that night at the teen hangout. "I'm sorry. What was your name?"

"Oh." She pushed back a lock of her hair on the side of her head without the bruising, tucking it behind an ear. "It's Paige."

"Oh!" Dash almost cursed out loud. How could he forget that name? "Paige, if it's okay, can I ask you more about it?"

Paige chewed on her lip, her gaze lowering as she looked away. Dash feared she would clam up and refuse to talk anymore. Paige took a shaky breath, her arms drawing her knees in closer to her chest. "I'm guessing you want me to spill about everything that happened."

"Only what you want to tell. Any details you don't want to tell a stranger, you can keep out." Dash shifted, sitting down comfortably as he waited patiently.

Paige remained silent, gazing at the ground like it was some artistic masterpiece at which she just couldn't stop staring. "I," she said so softly Dash nearly missed it, "snuck out of the house that night to meet my boyfriend. I know I shouldn't have. My parents already threatened to ground me if they caught me sneaking out again. B-But Bryce told me I _had_ to meet him. I couldn't just not go."

Dash bit down hard on his tongue to keep from letting some scathing remark about her boyfriend slip out. He did not want to say anything that might make her stop talking. Instead, he merely nodded like he understood her situation perfectly. In high school, he knew he had a lot of issues involving anger to work out, but he hoped none of the women he dated ever felt so scared of him they would disobey their parents to please him. He could at least feel safe in the knowledge that he never struck any woman for any reason.

"He wanted to meet in the park, but I was running late. I knew he was going to be mad. I was so worried about it I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention and I ended up bumping into someone. I felt really bad because I accidentally knocked them down. So I apologized and helped them up. But," Paige frowned, her fingers digging into her knees, "then Bryce showed up. He was really, really mad." She flinched like he was there right at that moment ready to yell at her for something that wasn't her fault. "And then- Then-" Her mouth trembled as tears spilled down her cheeks again.

Dash took hold of her hands. "Take your time."

Paige nodded. She took several deep breaths before she was able to continue. "I don't know how it all happened. Bryce was there suddenly. And he - He attacked the person I bumped into. Just stabbed them right in the chest. And he was yelling. I couldn't even understand what he was saying. He just sounded like a madman. And then they just dropped to the ground, blood pouring out of them. I was freaking out, screaming. And then Bryce grabbed me by the throat and told me to shut up. He said-" She choked on a sob, bowing her head. "He said it was my fault. He said if I told anyone, I'd go to jail. It's my fault their dead, and I don't even know who they were!"

Dash tugged her forward, drawing Paige into a hug. "None of that was your fault. None of it." He heard it too often: being told it was his fault someone hurt him. His anger toward his father, and toward Paige's boyfriend, boiled through his veins, but he stomped down on those feelings. Exploding with rage wouldn't help Paige. "You weren't the one who killed them. But," he hesitated, knowing what he said next might be difficult for her, "you really should talk to the police about this. You're not the one in trouble," he added quickly, sensing Paige tensing up. "Your boyfriend killed someone. He needs to be brought to justice for that crime. Think about the person he killed. Think about that person's family. Don't they deserve to know what happened?"

Paige shook her head, and Dash feared she would refuse to take her story to the police. "I've seen them," she murmured softly then slowly lifted her gaze. "Their parents. They pass out those missing persons flyers and ask people if anyone's seen their kid." She pulled a hand away to wipe at her eyes, trying to clear away the tears. "Whenever I see them, I just feel this horrible, empty aching in my chest. Maybe it's selfish of me to hope that telling people will finally make that feeling go away."

"Paige, you're not a horrible person for that. But coming forward with the information you just told me, that will help those parents find some peace. Right now, they don't even know their child is dead. They could be at home hoping, _praying_ for their child to walk through the front door and wake them from their nightmare. They will finally be able to start grieving for their loss. But that can't happen if you don't come forward." Dash squeezed the hand he still held. "I'll go with you if you want."

When she nodded, Dash helped her to her feet. As they walked toward the exit of the park, he pulled out his phone and typed a quick message to Kwan to inform him what was happening. A flake of snow landed on the screen of his phone. He glanced up toward the sky, noting more flakes drifting lazily down to the ground. It wasn't a heavy snowfall, thankfully, but he was glad he wore thick layers to keep him warm. Looking to Paige, Dash noticed her shiver. Her puffy coat seemed more for fashion aesthetic than to actually keep her warm. Shrugging off his coat, he draped it over her shoulders, which caused Paige to jump.

"O-Oh! Thanks." Paige blushed, ducking her head.

Dash hoped everything would work out for the best for Paige. But if she stayed with her boyfriend after all of this, Paige would never break away from his abuse. It wouldn't be easy, but Dash believed she could do it.

"Oh no." Paige froze next to him, her face going white.

Dash followed her gaze to find Paige's boyfriend Bryce rushing at him. Compared to Dash, Bryce was practically a stick, all long limbs without much muscle on them. Dash could probably bench press ten Bryces without breaking a sweat. His initial response to seeing the teen punk charging at him was laughter. Did Bryce really think he could take on Dash, who still trained like he was on the football team along with his recent sparring with a half ghost? But he realized too late there was one concern he should have taken into account. Bryce was right in his face, and Dash was prepared to act like a brick wall to whatever Bryce decided to scream at him. The screaming came from Paige. Dash grimaced and grunted as something sharp jabbed into his side. He grabbed hold of Bryce's arm before he could yank the knife free and potentially try for another stabbing.

"Bryce, stop!" Paige begged. She grabbed his shoulder to pull him away.

"Shut up, slut!" Bryce shoved her back with his shoulder. "You just can't help yourself. Flirting with every guy you see when you're supposed to be mine."

"She wasn't flirting with anyone, you numbskull," Dash growled through gritted teeth.

"He only offered his coat because I was cold," Paige explained. "That's it. There was nothing more to it."

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" Bryce shouted, yanking on the knife.

"Yes." Dash held on tight, his face contorting in pain at the sharp twinge from the jerk of the knife. He wasn't about to let go and allow Bryce to have free control of the knife again.

Bryce snorted with a disgusted curl of his lip. Then he turned his gaze to Paige standing a few steps back from them. "You really are nothing but a stupid pretty face, aren't you? You couldn't even tell you were flirting with a guy that likes having a cock shoved-"

_WHAM!_


	45. Chapter 45

Kwan kept his gaze on the ground as he searched the area. A pair of women walking with strollers passed him, shooting him strange looks, but Kwan offered them a small tilt of his head and a friendly smile. After that, he didn't encounter anyone else. Despite his best efforts to stay positive, his hope began to wane as time passed. The ground didn't look disturbed anywhere he looked. But Sawyer's death happened quite some time ago. At this point, would there be any obvious indicators to where her body was buried? If it was ever obvious, wouldn't someone have discovered to location by now? The park might be too large for the four of them alone to search in a short amount of time, but plenty of people visited the park daily. Someone had to have pass the location at some point.

Were they looking at this all wrong? Kwan paused, frowning in thought. If he killed someone, what was the first thing he would do? Hide the body. How? In a park like this, burying the body sounded like the best plan. _But_ , Kwan's frown deepened, _if the murder was spur of the moment, the killer wouldn't have the tools needed to dig a hole and bury the body_. It would take too long to dig a hole deep enough to hide a body if done by hand. Burying the body seemed unlikely when thinking like that. What else could the killer have done with the body? Hiding it in some thick bushes seemed unwise if the killer wanted to keep the body from being found. What other options were there for hiding a body in the park?

His phone buzzed, pulling him out of his thoughts. Kwan dug into his pocket, wondering if Danny finally made it back to the apartment to discover they were already gone. He hoped Danny wasn't angry with them for leaving without him. He checked the message, but it wasn't from Danny. To his surprise, it came from Dash.

"Heading to the police station," Kwan mumbled as he read the message. Did Dash finding something? If he found Sawyer's body, why didn't he just say that?

Kwan decided, rather than stand there wondering about the message, he would head to cut off Dash's path. It would be easier for them to talk about the message in person, instead of trying to text a long explanation about what was happening. Picking up his pace, Kwan tried not break into an all out run to meet up with Dash. But if Dash _did_ find Sawyer's body, they could finally inform her parents about what happened. Sawyer could finally move on in peace. Cameron's soul would finally be safe. Kwan held back his hope. Dash could have an entirely different reason to go to the police station.

A scream nearly stopped his heart.

It came from not too far ahead of him. Kwan put in an extra burst of speed, racing toward the source. The scream didn't sound like Dash, which was only a small relief. But who could it be? Sawyer was off in another direction searching for her body. Did the scream come someone completely unrelated to them? Either way, it sounded like someone needed help, and Kwan simply couldn't ignore that fact.

There! Just a few feet ahead of him! Kwan recognized the back of Dash's head anywhere, and he realized maybe that made him sound a bit pathetic. A woman stood off to the side, but Kwan had never seen her before. She looked pale and frightened. Something felt off about the scene, Kwan realized as a cold sensation of dread settled inside him. He rushed toward his friend, his heart pounding faster as he neared them.

"You really are nothing but a stupid pretty face, aren't you?"

Kwan didn't realize there was another person present until he got closer and saw the man standing in front of Dash. He was another unfamiliar face, but his words left anger bubbling up inside Kwan. His hands already curled into tight fists.

"You couldn't even tell you were flirting with a guy that likes having a cock shoved-"

Kwan snapped. Rage overtook all logical thinking. He punched the man before he could finish his disgusting comment. The man hit the ground, clapping his hands over his nose. He spluttered out insults and screamed about his nose being broken. Kwan ignored him. His attention immediately turned to his friend.

"Dash!" Panic rushed through Kwan when he saw the knife sticking out of his friend's side, blood staining his clothes.

"It's not as bad as it looks." Dash's wincing expression suggested differently. "First we should call the police."

"I - I can do that," the woman offered, already pulling out her phone.

Kwan frowned slightly when he noted she was wearing Dash's coat. "What exactly is going on here?"

"I think that," Dash nodded to the man on the ground, "waste of space is the one who killed Sawyer. If so, we might be able to locate her body."

As much as he wanted to celebrate that news, Kwan didn't feel like this was most appropriate time for that.

"Is that how she's telling it?" The man finally stopped his howling like a dying hyena and got to his feet. "She's supposed to be mine." He slapped a hand to his chest, glaring coldly at the woman. "But then she goes around flirting with anything with a dick that walks on two legs."

"Why do you act like this?" The woman was clearly trying to hold back her tears. "You used to be so much nicer. We were in love. Then you changed. I didn't flirt with anyone. I never had eyes for anyone but you."

"Oh? Really?" The blood dribbling down the man's face only made him all the more unattractive. Kwan couldn't understand what she ever saw in him. "You're going to tell me you weren't just trying to get into this man's pants?" He waved a hand at Dash.

"You're really bad at listening, aren't you?" Dash leveled a flat glare at the man. "I only gave her my coat because it's cold out. She was cold. It's the polite thing to do to offer a coat to someone who's cold. But I guess a weasel of a man like you wouldn't understand doing something nice just to be nice."

"T-The cops should be here soon," the woman announced in a small, shaky voice.

That jolted the man to attention. The seriousness of everything must have hit him, because in the next instant, he bolted away from them.

"Oh, you are _not_ getting away!" Kwan chased after him. Though the man had a lead on him, Kwan had years of football training that kicked in. He gained on the man. After about ten minutes, he caught up and tackled the man to the ground.

"Argh!" he cried out. "Get off me, you co-"

"I _really_ wouldn't finish that comment," Kwan growled, yanking the man's head back by a fistful of hair. "You killed a girl and stabbed my best friend." It was hard to resist the urge to punch the man again. He usually preferred to handle situations peacefully, but this man pushed all the wrong buttons. Seeing Dash standing there bleeding from a knife wound was almost enough to push him completely over the edge. Kwan barely managed maintain his control over his anger.

"Kwan?"

He snapped his head up, surprised to find Danny jogging toward him. Avery draped over Danny's shoulder, but they looked rather annoyed with the bouncing from the jog. Danny slowed to a halt, his eyes growing wide as he took in the scene before him.

"What's going on? Is that," Danny pointed at the man under Kwan, "Bryce?"

"I didn't really get a name." Maybe he should have, but more important things were on his mind at the time. Kwan climbed to his feet, yanking Bryce up with him. "But he stabbed Dash and is apparently the most likely suspect for killing Sawyer."

Anger twisted Danny's face, and his eyes glowed with a hint of green. "I knew there was something bad about you that night." Then his gaze snapped back to Kwan. "Wait! Dash was stabbed? Where is he?"

"Back this way." Kwan led Danny back to where Dash waited with the woman. He shoved Bryce ahead of him, keeping his arms twisted behind his back so he couldn't escape and run off again. When they arrived, Kwan noticed the woman had taken off her scarf and used it to put pressure on the wound. "Is, um," Kwan said quietly, nervously glancing at Bryce, "our friend okay?"

Danny's brow creased, but after a moment, understanding dawned in his expression. "Oh! Yeah, she's not too far off. I can go explain things to her. Uh, after I know exactly what there is to explain."

"A full explanation would be nice," Kwan agreed, and he and Danny both turned their gazes to Dash.

"I guess we do have some time before the police show up." Dash sighed then grimaced, holding his side where he pressed the scarf to his wound.

He launched into explanation of what he learned from the woman, who was named Paige. Whenever Bryce tried to inject some asinine comment, Kwan smacked him on the back of the head. Bryce kept wanting to turn the blame for what happened onto Paige and claiming it was all because she was overly flirtatious and a tease. Every word that came out of Bryce's mouth only increased Kwan's hatred toward him. He would question why Paige was even still dating such a gross human being, but once someone got trapped in a cycle of abuse, it was difficult for the person to break free of it. He hoped after all of this Paige would find someone who treated her right.

Beside him, Danny ground his teeth, frustration fill every inch of his body language. Kwan couldn't imagine how he felt at the moment. They encountered this couple the night they learned Sawyer's name. They didn't have any knowledge about what happened to Sawyer at that point in time, but Kwan doubted that fact would make Danny feel any better. If they had known more, maybe he would have caught Bryce then and found Sawyer's body already. But it was done now. They couldn't change the events that already passed.

The police arrived not long after Dash finished. "We got a call," announced the lead cop, her sharp gaze darting around the group. She zeroed in on Dash and the blood staining his clothes and the scarf. "Barnes," she snapped, and the twenty-something cop at her side jumped to attention, "we need a medical team here."

"Right away, Sir! Ma'am!" Barnes flushed at his fumble and quickly pulled out his radio to call it in.

"It's not a very deep wound," Dash said, and Kwan glared at him. Of course, Dash would play off his injury as something not important! It wasn't the first time he did it, and Kwan doubted it would be the last time.

"It still needs to be looked at by medical professionals." The lead cop glared him down, like she was daring him to talk back to her. When Dash didn't respond, she nodded. "Now someone start explaining." She placed her hands on her hips. "The call we got mentioned a murder."

Dash gave Paige a small nudge. She shot a nervous glance toward Bryce then looked like she nearly swallowed her tongue.

"Don't you dare say anything, bitch!"

Paige flinched at the outburst and shrank back. The lead cop - Kwan read the name on her uniform: Reyes - stepped toward them. Her expression was hard, and her gaze a cold glare as she sized up Bryce.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess this little wannabe punk is the one behind the murder." Reyes shot a glance toward Dash. "And the stabbing."

"Yes," Paige replied almost too quietly to be heard. She coughed to clear her throat. "That's correct, officer."

Reyes nodded. "We're going to need the full story." She pulled out a pad and pen to take notes.

With Dash behind her for support, Paige was able to tell Reyes what happened the night of the murder. She kept her gaze on Reyes, which probably helped her focus because if she let her gaze stray toward Bryce, she might lose her confidence. Kwan slapped a hand over Bryce's mouth the first time he tried to shout something at Paige after she started. Paige stumbled over her words here and there, and she wiped at her eyes whenever she started to cry.

"He - He stabbed the body," Paige said, her voice shaking slightly. "He said he saw it once on TV. He needed to puncture the lungs to help stop it from floating. He put rocks in every pocket he could find to help weigh down the body. Then he tossed the body into the lake."

Reyes slid her gaze to Bryce, who was fighting to break free. Kwan squeezed his hand around Bryce's arm and gave a sharp twist, just enough to inflict some pain and show he meant business. Bryce quieted down a bit after that. Reyes flipped her pad closed and tucked it away in her belt. Pulling out a pair of handcuffs, she stood in front of them.

"You are under arrest for stabbing someone and murder," Reyes told Bryce. Kwan let go to allow her to place the handcuffs around Bryce's wrists. "You have the right to remain silent," she read off his Miranda rights.

Her partner Barnes waved an arm over his head, and when Kwan glanced in the direction the officer faced, he saw a pair of EMTs rushing toward them. Barnes directed the EMTs to Dash, who pulled his hands away so they could look at his injury. Barnes took the knife handed to him by an EMT and placed it into an evidence bag. Kwan glanced around while the EMTs worked. Reyes had Bryce handcuffed and was radioing in for a team to search the park's lake for the body. Then Kwan realized Danny had vanished. When did that happen? Where did he go? He almost kicked himself when the answer came to him. While they were all distracted, Danny probably slipped off to find Sawyer and inform her what was happening.

They were taken to the nearest precinct where they had to go over the story once again. Except for Dash, who the EMTs took to the hospital to get stitches. Kwan would have preferred to go with his friend and avoid being involved in the whole police interrogation, but there was no way to get out of it. He hated sitting in the police precinct. It left him feeling sick to his stomach with nervousness, even though he did nothing wrong. Instead of letting his own anxiety drive him crazy, he focused on keeping Paige calm, giving her words of encouragement until her parents showed up in a panic. Paige shot off the chair and rushed over to her parents, throwing her arms around them. A small smile tugged at Kwan's mouth when he saw the reunion of parents and child.

It was dark by the time Kwan was finally free to leave. He took a deep breath then released it with a smile. It felt good to get out of the precinct. Dash was already waiting for him. Kwan nearly tackled him with a hug.

"Are you okay?" Kwan gaze lingered on the blood staining Dash's shirt. "How bad is it?"

"Just a few stitches." Dash shrugged. "Nothing's more fun than being questioned by cops while being stitched up," he muttered dryly, casting a glare off to the side. "The kid missed anything vital. But the doctor wants me to take it easy. You know, nothing too strenuous to avoid pulling the stitches."

"Guess you'll have to hold off on those training sessions with Danny. Speaking of, have you heard anything from Danny?"

Dash nodded. "He actually apologized for having to ditch us." He rolled his eyes, but there was something there. Something Kwan couldn't identify. "He went and found Sawyer. They watched the cops pull her body from the lake. Then they went to see her parents because Sawyer wanted to be there when her parents were informed about her body being found. After that, Sawyer agreed to go with Avery to do the whole moving on thing, or whatever it is. Danny said he'll meet us at the dinner."

Kwan's eyes grew wide. "I forgot all about that!" He grabbed Dash's hand and pulled him away from the precinct building. "We need to get ready! We're going to be so late!"


	46. Chapter 46

Danny stared at the two story house in front of him as he chewed on his thumbnail. Being right here, right now, was important, but his mind kept wandering back to Dash. Was he all right? How bad was his injury? From the amount of blood he saw on Dash, Danny thought he should be all right. But the knife could have pierced something vital inside him. Danny shook his head, forcing away any bad thoughts. Dash would be all right. Danny refused to believe differently.

He focused his attention back on the house. It was average looking with white siding and lacy curtains in the windows. Danny could imagine flowers growing along the house wall to either side of the walkway up to the front door. If it was summer, but now a thin layer of snow started to cover the ground. The tree in the front yard was bare of leaves. It seemed like a nice place to grow up, a home where Sawyer could be happy. Danny frowned, lowering his gaze. She could have grown up happy here until it was time for her to go off to college if her life hadn't been stolen from her. His fists clenched tightly at his sides, and he wished he could have gotten a few punches in on Bryce when he had a chance.

When the front door opened, Danny snapped his head back up. The two police officers stepped out of the house, giving their final condolences to Sawyer's parents. They walked away from the house, and Danny caught a glimpse of one woman turning into the other as she cried before the door closed. After a few moments, Sawyer slipped out of the house to meet back up with him.

"How did things go?" Danny asked then winced. What did he expect? That she would say it went well?

Sawyer frowned, hands shoved into the pockets of her oversized jacket. "I thought I would feel better after I knew my parents knew what happened to me. Like I would be relieved that they weren't left to wonder what happened or if I was still out there or thinking I abandoned them like they were terrible parents or something. But watching them, as the police talked to them, seeing them cry, it didn't make me feel relieved. It hurt to witness that."

Danny pulled her into a hug. He could have told her watching that wouldn't be easy, but sometimes, that was something a spirit needed to discover for themselves. "They're going to be hurting for a while, but at least now, they can finally grieve for their loss."

"I know." Sawyer sighed, leaning into the hug. "I just hate to leave them." She pulled away from him. "But I made a promise and there's a boy's life at stake. So," she turned her attention to the cat still balancing on Danny's shoulder, "ready to lead the way, Avery?"

Avery "hmphed" grumpily, and Danny wondered if the cat maybe was warming up to him a little. The grumpiness more likely came from the fact that Avery would miss getting to sleep on Dash's face, which was both cute and hilarious. Danny should have snapped a picture of it when he caught the pair sleeping on the couch once.

Avery jumped down from Danny's shoulder then trotted off down the street.

"Sometimes, they have to look for the right spot to open a portal," Danny explained when Sawyer's brow creased in confusion. "I know a ghost that can slice open portals with his claws. He could open them anywhere, but, well, you didn't always end up where you wanted to be that way. So they have to find a spot that will open to where they want to go."

Sawyer nodded. "I guess that makes sense." She chewed on her lip as they followed Avery. "I'm a little nervous about all of this."

"I-" Danny frowned. "Okay. I can't say I know how you feel. I've never been in this position myself. But everything will be all right in the end. Gertrude is very good at calming nervous spirits and explaining all of this to them." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Much better at it than I am. I've talked to some people, children mostly, when they're close to dying, usually a natural death, but I always feel like I just fumble through comforting them. It's," he stared at the ground as the snow gathered there, "not that easy knowing what to say to help them."

Sawyer patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sure they appreciate you trying." She grinned with a teasing light in her eyes. Her expression quickly melted back to nervousness when the portal opened in front of them. Avery hopped through the portal without a moment's hesitation, but Sawyer stared the swirling green circle apprehensively.

"It's going to be okay," Danny assured her, placing a hand only her shoulder.

Sawyer nodded jerkily. Then, after taking a deep breath, she stepped through the portal. Danny followed after her and was greeted by the familiar giant tree with Gertrude waiting patiently at its base. Maybe he was imagining it, but her expression seemed rather smug to him as they approached. Avery wasted no time returning to their master, purring loudly as they rubbed against her legs.

"That wasn't that hard, now was it?" A small smirk tried to peek onto Gertrude's face. "And you accomplished your task with plenty of time to spare."

Danny's eyes narrowed as his mouth pursed slightly. "Why do I get the feeling I've been played?"

"I wouldn't have any idea." Gertrude shrugged, but there was a knowing look in her eyes. It reminded him of anytime he went to speak to Clockwork, who would hint at things he knew but did so in a very cryptic way. Danny found it frustrating. He wouldn't be surprised if Clockwork and Gertrude got together occasionally to discuss the ways they made his life difficult.

"So, um," Sawyer shifted her weight as she toyed with the cuff of one sleeve, "that kid's soul is going to be all right now, right?

Gertrude turned her gaze onto Sawyer, who stood up a bit straighter. "Yes," a genuine smile spread onto her face, "Cameron shall live thanks to you. None of this was your fault, and you easily could have chosen to ignore what was happening with him. Many other spirits probably would have. But you are very kind hearted and considerate of others, even when you don't know them personally."

Sawyer ducked her head, a blush blossoming on her cheeks.

Danny breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, everything was done. He still felt like kicking himself. If he had been a little faster to puzzle things out, he might have stopped Cameron's soul from ever being endangered. He knew there was no logical way for him to have realized that night Bryce was the one behind Sawyer's death. But if he could have seen it then, he would have saved Dash from being stabbed. He could have helped Paige escape her creep of a boyfriend sooner and eased the guilt she carried over Sawyer's death. He couldn't change the events of how things happened. Clockwork certainly wouldn't allow it. But he wished, just a little, if only to save people from suffering.

Arms squeezing around his waist drew Danny out of his thoughts. He looked down, in surprise, to find Sawyer hugging him.

"I just want to thank you, all of you, for your help," Sawyer said, her arms tightening just slightly. "Not only did you sacrifice your time to help me, but you treated me like I was one of your own." Sawyer pulled back from him, grinning. "If any of you ever become a dad, I know you'll be really good at it."

"Oh, um, well-" Danny babbled.

"He's adorable when you get him all flustered like that," Gertrude mumbled to Sawyer, who chuckled behind her hand. Danny's face grew bright red.

"Wait. Wait!" Sawyer grabbed hold of Danny's wrists. "Since I didn't get to see them, I want you to tell Dash and Kwan thank you and give them both big, BIG hugs from me."

Danny smiled. "You got it."

"I believe you have some business back in the mortal world," Gertrude said gently, breaking up the moment.

"Oh, right!" Danny winced, almost forgetting about the little Christmas get together Celeste and Hayley invited them to. "I guess I should be getting back."

Sawyer nodded, her eyes misty with sadness. "I'm really glad I got the chance to meet the three of you. Despite being dead, these last days have been really nice. Well, nicer than if I had kept searching all by myself. I'm going to miss you."

"We're going to miss you too."

After their goodbyes were said, Avery opened a portal for him back to the mortal world. Danny waved as he stepped through it. Once the portal closed, he sighed. He was happy everything worked out in the end, but it was bittersweet. He was going to miss having Sawyer around, and he would bet Dash and Kwan felt the same way. Even if it was for a short time, she became a part of their lives.

Checking the time, Danny winced, realizing he was cutting it close to be on time to the dinner. Hopefully, he wouldn't arrive too late. He took to the sky and pulled up the directions on his phone as he flew. Relief flooded him when he checked his messages to see Dash responded with an update on his condition. He only needed a few stitches for the knife wound, and it looked like things were well on their way for Bryce to spend a long time in jail for his actions. Over the years, Danny tried to be more mature, but he couldn't help feeling happy about Bryce being locked up. The teenager hurt too many people to remain free without being punished for his actions.

As he neared the house with Christmas light blinking along the rooftop, Danny pushed those thoughts out of his head. He didn't want to go into this dinner with his mind cluttered with anger toward Bryce. This was supposed to be a happy little gathering among friends. When he touched down close to the house, Danny spotted Dash's car turning the corner at the end of the street. Once they parked outside the house, Danny slipped into the backseat of the car.

"I saw Sawyer off," he announced as he dropped his invisibility and reverted back to human.

Dash shouted, banging his knee on the dashboard. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry." Danny forgot sometimes how jumpy his friends could be when he sneaked up on them.

"So everything's good now?" Kwan asked, his hand hovering over his chest.

"Yeah, Sawyer's moving on and Cameron's soul is safe."

"That's good." Kwan smiled with relief.

"Sawyer also wants me to tell you both thanks." Danny followed his roommates as they climbed out of the car. "She also wants me to give you hugs from her. But I don't really need to do that, do I?"

"Uh," Dash glanced away, "probably not. But I'm gonna miss that kid." He frowned, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. "She was a good kid." He got nods from Danny and Kwan as they walked up to the front door. Dash rang the bell when they reached the door.

After a few minutes, the door opened, and they were greeted by Celeste and Hayley. Celeste donned a Santa hat and wore a Christmas sweater with reindeer and Christmas trees decorating it. Hayley wore a red dress with a candy cane striped belt. Her earrings looked like little Christmas ornaments.

"You made it!" Hayley smiled cheerfully. "Dinner is just about ready."

"I, um," Dash shifted, "hope this isn't too awkward. With everything that happened."

"I invited you to this to show there are no hard feelings." Rolling her eyes, Celeste pulled him into the house. Danny and Kwan followed, and Hayley closed the door once they were all inside. "Yes, I was upset," Celeste continued as she guided them to the dining room, which was set up for a fancy Christmas dinner. "You seemed like a great guy, and I'm sure whoever you end up with will be very lucky. But Hayley helped me realize our breakup wasn't the end of the world."

"As much as I wanted things to work out with Danny," Hayley said, "I realized trying to force a relationship to be 'The One' just doesn't work in the end. I like Danny just fine, but it wasn't the romantic kind of love I felt toward him."

"And, well, we," Celeste gestured to herself then to Dash, "only really had that blind date at the Halloween party. While I liked you and thought you were a good guy, I could hardly say I was madly in love with you. We didn't know each other well enough for anything like that. So I decided not to be upset about it anymore. And it wasn't like nothing good came out of our meeting." She glanced over to Hayley, and the pair of women smiled at each other.

"Wait." Danny pointed to each of them, the gears in his mind working double time as he processed everything. "Are you two-"

"Only since Tuesday," Hayley said, blushing brightly. "We were out at dinner when Celeste asked if it was a date. I wasn't sure if she was joking or not at first, but I - Well, we've been hanging out a lot as friends, but it could be easy to say what we were doing was dating. We just didn't make it official until that night."

Danny dragged Hayley into a hug, lifting her off her feet. "I'm so happy for you!" He set her down and turned to Celeste. "For both of you!"

"That's great!" Kwan agreed then nudged the surprised Dash.

"Yeah!" Dash chimed in, almost shouting. "Sorry. I mean, it really is good. I was just surprised." He raked his hand through his hair, embarrassed. "Who would have thought the two of you would meet and hook up after dates with me and Fenton? It's kind of crazy when you think about how things connect."

"Maybe it was meant to be," Danny said. Clockwork probably saw things working out this way from the very beginning. Maybe watching the mess that was his love life was like watching soap operas for Clockwork. He imagined Clockwork sitting at his time monitor and eating popcorn as he watched everything unfold. "Uh, so," he tugged at his ear when he realized they were all staring at him, "if we had known, we would have brought something to celebrate."

"It wouldn't have been much of a surprise if we told you beforehand, would it?" Celeste teased. When something dinged from the kitchen, she raised a finger. "That would be the chicken. Just take a seat, and we can get started." She disappeared into the kitchen with Hayley.

The three of them sat down at the table, and Danny realized he ended up between Dash and Kwan. His talk with Tucker earlier came back to him, and Danny tried not to blush too noticeably. He doubted he had a chance with either of them. But if the possibility came up, how was he to ever choose? They were both great men, and he felt attraction to both of them. Maybe it was better he would never have to make that choice. Dash was straight, so he wasn't a real option anyway. Danny's gaze slid toward Kwan. He might know now Kwan was bisexual, but that didn't mean Kwan saw him as anything but a friend. Picking up the glass in front of him, Danny sipped the water. He wished he could find the same happiness Hayley and Celeste now had.


	47. Chapter 47

When the dinner was over, the group headed to the front door. Dash felt like he probably stuck his foot in his mouth about dozen times while they ate. Kwan always told him he had a gift for saying something stupid, but that was way back in high school when he did less thinking about the words he said. He simply didn't expect to come to this little Christmas get together and discover Celeste and Hayley were now dating. But the two women looked happy together. Dash was happy for them. Really, he was. But he couldn't deny the little flame of jealousy burning in him. He wanted to have that same loving relationship, and he had two great possibility, if he wasn't afraid of ruining everything he currently had. Their living arrangement was good. It was working to his great surprise. If he said something to either, there was a possibility he could destroy it all.

"We hope we can do this again sometime," Celeste said as they stood at the door.

"Yeah," Kwan agreed with a bright smile. "This was great."

"Oh! Right!" Hayley disappeared into one of the rooms off to the side of the front hall. In a moment, she returned and held up three tickets. "The opening night of the play isn't until January. So if you're going out of town for Christmas or for any other reason, it shouldn't interfere with that."

"We'll definitely be back by then," Dash said. "School starts pretty soon after the New Year and all."

"You didn't have to get us tickets." Fenton accepted the tickets Hayley held out to him. "I would have been happy to buy some for us."

Hayley shook her head. "They gave me five tickets for opening night. So you three, Celeste, and her friend Mary. It actually turned out to be a perfect amount for me." She pressed a finger to Fenton's lips, silencing him before he could speak. "I'm happy that you'll come see my performance so you don't need to feel guilty, or whatever, about not buying the tickets yourself."

Fenton smiled. "Okay. I won't complain that I didn't buy them. But I'll be sure to buy some kind of merchandise, if they sell any, to contribute money to the show."

Hayley smiled in return. "I'm not feeling it yet, but I just know I'm going to start getting nervous as we get closer to opening night."

Celeste placed her hands on Hayley's shoulders. "Breathe. You're going to be great. You've memorized all your lines and the songs. You nail all the stage cues during rehearsals. And even if you make a flub during the performance, just keep going like that was exactly how it was meant to be. The audience won't necessarily realize it was a mistake unless you draw attention to it."

Hayley nodded, only slightly stiffly. "Yeah. Yeah! It's going to be great. It's just my first time doing anything like this. I just want to be good at it."

"You will be," Fenton told her encouragingly.

"And it's probably time we hit the road," Dash said, throwing his thumb back to point at his car. "It's pretty late and all."

"Right! Sorry." Hayley bowed her head. "I didn't mean to hold you up."

"No, no." Dash waved his hands in front of him. "It's okay. It's just been a long day for us."

"Drive safely," Celeste said. She and Hayley waved goodbye to them as they walked toward their car.

Dash sighed as he climbed into the driver's seat. The events of the day were catching up to him, and he just wanted to get back to their apartment and crash for the rest of the night. Thankfully, it was Saturday night, so he didn't have to worry about going to work in the morning.

"You okay?" Kwan asked, shooting him a concerned look. "If you're tired, I can drive instead."

Dash shook his head as he started the car. "It's fine." He pulled away from the curb and drove down the street.

"You weren't lying about the severity of your injury, were you?" Fenton asked, sitting forward so his head poked between the front seats. His concern mirrored Kwan's, which surprised Dash despite their growing friendship.

"No." Dash scowled at him. "It's not that bad, though the doctor did prescribe some pain medication. But I don't think I need to take any right now."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not saying it to cover up my pain!" Dash shouted, frustrated with the interrogation. He sighed, rubbing at his eyes briefly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to explode. I'm just exhausted. I've already been questioned by that cop. I'll feel better once we get home and can rest."

"Sorry," Kwan and Fenton mumbled as Fenton leaned back so he wasn't talking in Dash's ear.

"But I know you," Kwan added, leveling a flat stare at his friend. "You pulled a muscle during practice once and wanted to keep going. You could have hurt yourself more by continuing if the coach hadn't forced you to sit out and get it checked out. You like to act like you're tough and invincible to hide the pain you're feeling."

There were plenty of other stories Kwan could have picked to illustrate his point. Dash was thankful he chose a football injury. He didn't quite feel up to talking about his father to Fenton. Kwan must have realized that and picked something that wouldn't raise questions from Fenton.

"I'm not trying to do that," Dash argued. "Okay. I'm not trying to do that right now. Back when I got stabbed, of course I didn't want that little shit to realize how badly it hurt. But right now, it doesn't hurt as much. So you don't need to mother hen me about this."

"Sorry." Kwan settled back in his seat, picking at a loose thread on his seatbelt. "I just worry about you."

"And I appreciate it." Dash sighed, resisting the urge to beat his head against the steering wheel. There he went making a mess of things again. "I mean it. I do appreciate that you worry about me. Just," he hunched his shoulders, "maybe you could take it down a few notches. Not every injury I receive needs constant monitoring."

"I can't help it. I worry about Danny too. I just - I hate seeing you get hurt." He leaned forward slightly, rubbing at his eyes. "And remembering Valerie is the Red Huntress, I worry about her too. Logically, I know all of you are capable of taking care of yourselves, but I can't just cut off my worrying. There's no switch or something for it."

"Argh!" Dash cursed at himself. "I shouldn't have said anything! I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just tired of questions right now."

"Let's just take a breath and relax for a moment," Fenton suggested. "It's been a crazy day. We found out Bryce killed Sawyer and her body was recovered from the lake. Dash got stabbed. Kwan had to sit at the police station for hours. But now we should just be relaxing and happy because Sawyer's moving on in peace, Cameron's safe, and Bryce is going to be in jail."

"And hopefully Paige will be free of Bryce's abuse now," Dash added. His hands tightened around the steering wheel as he thought of the pain Paige suffered because of her boyfriend, hopefully ex-boyfriend by now.

"Hey." Kwan reached over to squeeze Dash's shoulder. "I'm sure things are going to be all right with her."

The rest of the ride back to their apartment was quiet. Every once and a while, Dash glanced at the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of Fenton with his brow creased like he was puzzling out some problem he just couldn't figure out the answer to. He was half tempted to question what was on Fenton's mind, but he was enjoying the silence too much at the moment.

When they arrived at their apartment building, Dash parked in their usually spot in the garage. Then they headed up to their apartment. Dash opened the door and paused.

"It's going to be weird not having Avery around," he realized when the cat didn't appear to greet them.

"Yeah," Fenton agreed as he and Kwan slipped past Dash into the apartment. "But they had to go back to their duty bringing spirits to Gertrude eventually." They hung up their coats then walked over to the couch to relax. "We could always get a cat, if you miss Avery too much."

"I don't know." Dash frowned. "I don't think it would be the same."

"Aw, you really liked them." Kwan grinned as he poked his friend in the cheek.

Dash swatted at the hand as Kwan chuckled. "I won't miss waking up with their butt in my face though." He was about to put his feet up on the table when he noticed the bags sitting there. "What's all this?" He was certain those bags weren't there when they left for the park, which felt like a million years ago now. Were the bags there when they stopped by before going to Celeste and Hayley's Christmas get together? He couldn't recall, but they were in a hurry at the time.

"Oh! I got some gifts for the children at the hospital," Fenton explained, his cheeks turning a subtle pink. "I wanted to make sure I got some before you went to drop them off."

"You didn't have to."

"Yeah, but I wanted to."

"I'm sure the children will appreciate it," Kwan said as he got to his feet. "I don't know about you two, but I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to call it an early night."

"I'm right there with you," Fenton agreed then had to cover his mouth as he yawned.

"I third that." Dash waited until his roommates disappeared into their rooms. Then he walked over to the kitchen and got a glass from the cupboard. He filled it part way with water then pulled out the bottle of pain medication he received from the doctor. It wasn't a lie when he told them in the car he didn't need to take any, but once they were on their way up to their apartment, he started feeling a twinge from the wound. He took the recommended amount on the label and gulped down the water. Then he walked over to his room to prepare for bed.

They spent the rest of their weekend simply relaxing. Mostly. Dash was happy to lay on the couch, grading the few things left over from Friday while Kwan and Fenton decided to put up a few decorations to make their apartment feel more festive. Since they were all planning to go back to Amity Park for Christmas, they skipped out on getting a tree. Fenton, however, had a small, fake tree with decorations that he placed on the coffee table. They strung up lights around the apartment, which they turned on once it got dark outside. With only the Christmas lights on, the three of them curled up on the couch with mugs of hot chocolate and a bowl of caramel coated popcorn as _It's a Wonderful Life_ played on the television.

When Monday morning came, Dash wished they were already off on their winter break. With students having had finals to stress over, Dash went easy on them with his lessons. He could see it in his students' faces. They were watching the clock and eagerly counting down every second that brought them closer to freedom, even when they still had a few days left. He remembered what it was like being a student with a holiday break hanging just out of reach. Glancing at the clock, he almost groaned himself. The bell was seconds from ringing, but he still had one more class after the current one. When the bell finally rang, the students practically bolted out of the classroom.

"Hey, Mr. Baxter."

Dash looked up from sorting through his papers to see Jeremy standing nervously before his desk. "What - Oh! You probably want to know about your brother's soul. We managed to solve that over the weekend." Thankfully, the police didn't call any of them back to the precinct station for more questioning, or whatever else they might need. In his opinion, they had a pretty solid case with Paige's testimony for how the murder took place. "Your brother's soul is safe now."

The tension melted from Jeremy's shoulders. "That's great!" He smiled, relief flooded his expression. "My parents will be relieved to know that."

Dash nodded. "So, um, how's the whole necromancy thing going for you? Any problems? Uh, but I guess you'd be better off talking to Fenton if you had any questions about it."

"Uh, yeah, well, I mean, our mom wants us to mature a bit more before really get into that kind of stuff." Jeremy looked slightly uneasy. "I'm still not sure how I feel about all this, but it's a part me, so it's not like I can completely ignore it. You know?" He winced, probably thinking Dash didn't actually know what it was like. "It's kind of interesting though. I mean, my brother can't see any auras like I do. My sister doesn't seem to have any sort of necromancy skill, which I think my mom is happy about. But I've noticed, when I concentrate, I can see people's auras, and I've kind of been trying to understand what exactly it is I'm seeing." He shifted nervously, and Dash's brow creased as he tried to understand where this was going. "Um, so, you - Your aura's been kind of cloudy today. I thought - Well, I was worried that maybe there was something wrong." He chewed on his lip and looked like he half expected Dash to get angry and yell at him.

"First off," Dash raised a finger, "I think it's great that you're more about your abilities. It's important to know how to control them, for your own safety as well as others. But, you might want to be a little more cautious with how you use them. Some people may not appreciate you reading their auras."

"You're mad, aren't you?" Jeremy cringed back.

Dash shook his head. "I'm not mad. But I feel the warning might be necessary. Especially if you talk about seeing auras with other people who may not believe in your necromancy abilities."

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, I get it. But, um, so is everything all right?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Dash offered a winning smile. "I just have some things I've been thinking about lately. But it's nothing for you to worry about." Those "things," of course, being Kwan and Fenton. They must have all been far more tired than any of them realized after stressing about finding Sawyer's body because he woke up sometime after the movie finished last night to find himself sandwiched between his sleeping roommates. Fenton was curled up with his back to Dash, but he was using Dash's arm like a pillow. Kwan, on the other hand, had one arm draped over Dash's waist while his drool made a wet spot on Dash's shoulder. The scenario didn't help with his confused feelings.

"If you're sure." Jeremy frowned like he didn't quite believe what Dash told him. "I just thought I should check. In case there was anything I could do to help. Though I guess a kid like me isn't really that big of help for adult problems."

"You do know you don't owe us anything for helping out with your brother, right? We were happy to do it, and we weren't expecting any kind of repayment." Dash could see the conflict still playing across Jeremy's face. "You're a good kid. And I bet Kwan would say something, like, just keep your grades up and graduate and get into a good college. But if you really feel like you still need to do _something_ ," Dash considered for a moment, "do something for someone else. That whole pass a good deed forward, or whatever it's called." He waved it off like the name wasn't important. "Help out another student. Mow a neighbor's lawn. Carry the groceries for someone. Whatever you," he pointed at Jeremy, "think of as a good deed, do it for no other reason than you're a good person." He shrugged as he leaned back in his seat. "I think that's what all of us would ask of you."

Jeremy stared at the desk, his mouth pursing slightly. Then he nodded. "Yeah. Yeah! I can do that." He grinned and seemed to feel better about the whole thing.

"Good. Now get to class before you're tardy." Dash smiled as he watched Jeremy dart out of the classroom. He wished his own problems were as easy to solve.


	48. Chapter 48

"Everyone remembered to pack everything they need, right?" Kwan double checked his own things, fearing he left something out in his rush to get everything ready. As soon as school let out just after noon, the three of them hurried back to their apartment to gather their things for their trip back to Amity Park. He almost couldn't believe they were actually going to make it during their desperate search for Sawyer's body. He feared they would be down to the final seconds of the deadline before finding her body, but by some miracle, luck was on their side last weekend.

"Yes, yes," Dash replied, sighing in exasperation after Kwan asked for the tenth time. "And we all have our tickets and everything else we need to show at the airport. If you keep stalling, we'll miss the plane. The car should be waiting outside for us right now."

"You say that now, but last year, you forgot to bring your mother her Christmas gift," Kwan pointed out with a teasing grin that earned him a smack on the arm.

"That was only one small present. And we were able to grab something else once we got to Amity Park."

"Triple checked, and I'm ready to go," Danny announced, lugging his suitcase and a small carryon bag.

"Great. Let's go!" Dash held open the door and gestured with several sweeps of his arm for everyone to exit the apartment.

"We have plenty of time to get there before the plane departs." Rolling his eyes, Kwan carried his bags through the door.

"So," Dash locked up the apartment once they all stepped out into the hall, "now that everything is over with Cameron and Sawyer, what are you going to do about that shield you were working on?" He picked up his luggage, and they walked down the hall. "I mean, it's not really necessary now, is it?"

Kwan gasped like he was offended by the questions. "Are you saying all our hard work amounts to nothing?" When Dash nudged him with an elbow, Kwan chuckled.

"I wouldn't say it's completely unnecessary," Danny said, taking the question a bit more seriously. "Yeah, there were no attacks on the school this time. But," he frowned, "because of who I am, if an enemy ghost comes looking for me, they might try to attack the school. We've experienced that enough times during high school. Having the shield up at least protects our students. It keeps the school as a safe place. So far, I haven't run into that issue being a teacher, but it's always better to be safe than sorry if a future attack at the school were to happen."

"Okay." Dash raised a hand. "I get it. The shield's a smart plan."

"Oh, are you boys off?" asked one of their neighbors, standing in the doorway of her apartment at the end of the hall.

"That's right, Ms. Evans," Kwan answered with a friendly smiled. "We'll be back next week."

"Well, I hope you enjoy your trip." She pushed up the thick glasses she wore, which always seemed to slip down the slant of her narrow nose. She stood a bit hunched over and came up a few inches short of standing at shoulder height to any of the three men. "I made you some little treats to take with you." She turned into her apartment then turned back with three bags of chocolate squares.

"You didn't have to do that." Dash smiled sweetly, the way he did when he was sucking up to make older people think he was some little angel. Kwan remembered his friend using that smile a lot on their teachers, sometimes with parents though it tended not to work on the fathers of any women he dated. "But thank you." He took one of the bags.

"Thank you," Danny said with a bob of his head as he took the second bag.

"I thought we might have missed our chance to get some of your amazing chocolate." Kwan took the last bag.

"Of course I wouldn't forget to save some for you boys." Ms. Evans reached up and pinched his cheek. "Now take care and have a safe flight."

"See you when we return." Kwan waved goodbye before he rejoined his roommates.

When they stepped out of the building, a car waited for them. The driver popped the trunk for them, and they loaded their bags into the car. The driver was a young twenty-something woman dressed like an elf, and not looking too happy about the costume.

"I don't mean to rush you," she called from the open window, "but I have about two hours left before I need to get back to the mall, and I still want to grab some food. It looks like traffic is starting to pick up on the way to the airport."

Kwan closed the trunk, and the three of them climbed into the backseat of the car. Danny ended up crammed in the middle, and they struggled to get their seatbelts buckled. Once she saw everyone was settled, she drove away from the apartment building, using an app on her phone to find the quickest route through the heavy traffic to the airport.

"Didn't you used to hate Christmas?" Dash asked after several minutes of awkward silence.

"Uh, yeah," Danny replied, tugging at his ear.

"How?" Dash stared, unable to comprehend anyone hating Christmas.

"Well," Danny shrugged with his gaze lowered, "I didn't always have the best experiences with Christmas. Like this one time when I was still a baby, my parents took me with them when they went to get the tree. While they were busy arguing, I ended up getting peed on by a dog."

Dash managed to keep a blank face for about two seconds before a laugh escaped him. Kwan reached around Danny and smacked his friend on the leg.

"Don't laugh! That's horrible." Kwan could see how an experience like that might sour the whole holiday. He frowned at Danny. "But that was just one thing, and it happened such a long time ago."

"If it was just that, I'd probably wouldn't have hated Christmas for as long as I did." With a sigh, Danny raked a hand through his hair, like he was trying to decide if he wanted to tell them everything about why he hated the holiday. "A few years later, my parents were, once again, arguing, and," he hesitated to continue the story, "the Christmas chicken came alive."

"I'm sorry," the driver cut in. "I usually stay out of my passengers' conversations. But did you say the chicken came alive?"

Danny paled. Kwan had a fairly good guess for how the chicken "came alive," but he also knew it was an answer Danny wouldn't want to tell anyone who wasn't from Amity Park. They preferred to keep everyone here in the dark about the existence of ghosts. Danny then laughed nervously.

"It's, um, sort of a family joke. One of my great, great whatever's," Danny waved a hand like the exact relative was unimportant, "was getting the chickens ready for dinner. They were farmers, and he had raised the chickens himself. Anyway, he turned around and saw one of the chickens still running around. But when he looked closer, he realized the chicken actually already had its head chopped off. So, um, now, whenever someone in my family serves chicken so raw it could still be alive, we jokingly say the chicken came back to life."

"That is really gross." The driver shuddered. "Please don't tell that story again. Ever."

"Sorry." Danny shrank down slightly in his seat, his cheeks growing red.

Kwan agreed with the driver. The idea of a chicken running around without its head disturbed him. And he was used to seeing ghosts! The story put an end to their conversation. The rest of their ride to the airport was silent except for the soft music coming from the radio. When he glanced over, Kwan stifled a chuckle to see the music was practically putting Dash to sleep.

When they reached the airport, Kwan handed the money for the fare to their driver. "Thanks for the lift." Then he followed Dash and Danny out of the car.

"So what really happened that Christmas with the chicken?" Dash asked as they were pulling their bags out of the trunk.

"Oh, uh, the chicken did get up and start attacking, but that's because, well, with all the ghost inventions my parents create, sometimes they accidentally mix things up. The chicken kind of got cooked with ecto energy, and yeah," Danny trailed off awkwardly. "But thankfully, Jazz was there, and she kicked chicken butt to keep me safe."

Dash shook his head as he closed the trunk. "Only Fentons." He waved to the driver to let her know they got everything out of the trunk. She returned the wave then pulled away from the curb and merged back into the thick traffic of cars in the drop off lanes.

"So every year, something bad happened to you during Christmas?"

"Pretty much." Danny sighed. "The worst of it was my parents fighting. And the whole thing was about whether or not Santa was real. Thankfully, they've laid that whole argument to rest, and our Christmases have been a lot better since then."

Kwan eyed Danny as they entered the airport and headed to the security check line. "I feel like there's more to this story."

"I may," Danny winced, "have angered a ghost that trapped me in a rhyming Christmas story until I learned my lesson after blowing up a story he worked super hard to write. My parents were already fighting, and I was a frustrated little fourteen-year-old. I just wanted to blow off some steam. I didn't actually mean to ruin his hard work."

"After that, it sounds like you needed a little lesson." Kwan glared, and Danny shrank away.

"Your Christmases still sound better than growing in my house." Dash walked a few steps ahead, getting into the line first.

"What was that about?" Danny asked quietly. "What did he mean? And did I do something wrong?"

Kwan shook his head. "That you have to talk to him about, if he actually wants to talk about it." He grabbed one of the bins and piled in his electronics, toiletries he was bringing, and his shoes into it. Once the bin and his luggage were on the conveyor belt, he stepped into the full body scanner. He already hated flying. The increasing security measures over the years didn't make him like it anymore.

"Are you going to be okay on the flight?" Dash asked when Kwan walked over to join him on the bench.

"Now who's being the mother hen?" Kwan smirked as he repacked what he had to take out for the security check. "I," he took a deep, shaky breath, "should be fine. It's safe. Nothing to worry about." His hands felt clammy as he tied the laces of his shoes.

"What's not to worry about?" Danny sat down next to him. Then his eyes grew wide. "Oh! Oh, man!" He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry! Duh, of course, you don't like flying! Are you sure you're going to be fine?"

"It's really better if you don't keep asking me." Kwan winced. "I can't really keep my mind off it when you keep bringing it up."

"We just want to make sure you're okay." Dash placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "But hey, keep this in mind. You're flying with Fenton this time. No matter what happens during the flight, _Phantom_ will be there to keep us all safe."

"Yeah," Danny agreed, putting his hand on Kwan's other shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about."

Kwan released his breath, the tension relaxing from his body. "Okay. Yeah. That actually makes me feel a little better." How could he not feel safe when his hero Phantom would be right there with him to save the day if it was needed? Danny always managed to come through in the end. As scared as he was of heights, he could trust that Danny would catch him if he fell.

"Good." Dash clapped his hand against Kwan's shoulder. "Let's head for our gate then." He stood, grabbing his things.

When they were all ready, they walked through the airport until they found their gate. Then they waited, and waited, and waited until Kwan thought he would pass out from the boredom of waiting for it to be time to board the plane. Finally, a flight attendant announced that they were boarding. The three of them got up and joined the other passengers in line. It was obnoxious and slow waiting to get onto the plane. Then they had to slowly progress down the narrow aisle to their seats. They put their big luggage bag into the space above the seats then sat down and buckled up and waited for the plane to take off. Kwan had the middle seat, and while he disliked having a view out the window, he preferred being between his two friends. Somehow, it made him feel safe having them on either side of him. When the plane lurched and began to move, he immediately grabbed both their hands.

"S-Sorry." Kwan shot an apologetic look to Danny, who shook his head.

"It's okay." Danny squeezed his hand, and Kwan relaxed.

Closing his eyes, Kwan tried to pretend they were simply in the car and not about to be thousands of feet up in the air. Why did he think that? Now his panic was setting in. He held on tight to his friend's hands, trying to keep his mind calm as best he could. It was only a four hour flight. This wasn't his first time making the trip back to Amity Park. He could do this without having a major panic attack. He took deep, slow breaths as the plane lifted into the air, leaving the runway behind it.

"Okay. I have to ask," Dash said, leaning over Kwan so he could speak to Danny even while keeping his voice low. "How exactly do you have sex with a merman? I mean, it's all smooth scales down there, right? Or, like, did you have sex only when he was human?"

"Oh my god, Dash!" Kwan snapped his eyes open and shot a glare at his friend. "You can't just ask stuff like that." Then he quickly twisted around, his eyes widening as he met Danny's gaze. "I swear I said nothing to him."

"Wait. You talked to him about this?"

"N-Not this exactly." Kwan shrank back in his seat like it might swallow him whole so he could avoid this conversation.

"How do you even know about that?" Danny nearly shouted but managed to catch himself and keep his voice down so the other passengers wouldn't hear him.

"Um, I, uh-" Dash cringed, realizing his misstep. "Okay." He sighed. "But don't get mad. Mirabelle let it slip, but to be fair, she assumed we already knew about your relationship with Will. I guess merpeople are more open about talking about that stuff. Or something."

"Oh. Yeah." Danny looked away as he chewed on his thumbnail. "Uh, you're not - You don't mind it?" He glanced sideways toward Dash.

"You think I'm going to beat you up for being bisexual, don't you?" Dash glared, pursing his mouth. "I know I was pretty much a jerk in high school, but I never used someone's sexuality as an excuse to hurt them."

"Sorry." Danny bowed his head. "I didn't mean to think badly of you. I just - You can never tell how someone's going to react when they learn about someone's sexuality. And I guess I just kind of worried you might not be very accepting of it. I shouldn't have assumed that, so I'm sorry."

Dash shrugged a shoulder, looking away awkwardly. "I shouldn't have just asked you that stuff out of nowhere. My curiosity got the better of me."

"So," Kwan said, relieved that a big blowout argument didn't ensue, "what is the answer?" He couldn't deny being a little curious himself.

"That's, um-" Danny's whole face turned dark red. "Mostly it was when he was human." He wouldn't answer anymore questions about his relationship with Will.


	49. Chapter 49

For the rest of the flight, their conversation steered away from Danny's sexual exploits and toward more normal topics. Talking seemed to help keep Kwan's mind off his fear of heights, though he still held on tight to both Danny and Dash's hands. Danny never imagined that Kwan would have such a fear, but back in high school, he barely knew anything about the two jocks. Thinking about it now, it was strange how much he came to know about them in only a few months while learning virtually nothing about them after four years of high school.

As the plane taxied to the gate, Danny's mind turned back to a comment Dash made before they went through the security check. What did Dash mean when he said Danny's bad experiences with Christmas were still better than growing up in his house? He frowned as he glanced to Dash who was staring out the window. He knew more about Dash now, but he realized there was still a lot he didn't know. He still knew little about Dash's family, or even Kwan's family. Before he could think of how to best approach the topic, the pilot announced that they were free to leave the plane. When Kwan released his hand, Danny realized just how stiff it was from not moving the whole flight. He wiggled his fingers as he undid the buckle. Getting off the plane was slow, having to wait for the mass of people in the rows ahead of them to leave first. When they could, they got the luggage down from the overhead bins then joined the line of people exiting the plane.

"So, uh, will you be meeting up with family to pick you up?" Danny asked once they were off the plane.

"We usually just call a service for a ride." Dash shrugged.

"If my family came, they'd _all_ want to come," Kwan said with a light chuckle. "Then we'd barely have room in the car for ourselves."

"You have a big family?"

"Extended family. Mostly just see them for holidays. It's hard to get a moment to yourself when they're all around though."

Danny nodded as they walked through the airport. "It's usually just my parents, Jazz, and me. My mom has a sister, but she doesn't really like flying up from Arkansas." He shot a glance to Dash. "Uh, what about your family?"

"Dad's dead, so it's just my mom and sister." Dash scratched a hand through his hair, his voice sounding distant like his mind was somewhere else completely.

Danny stumbled over his feet. "You have a sister?" Then he winced. "Oh, um, sorry about your dad."

Dash blinked then rolled his shoulder. "Yeah, she was younger than us. We were out of high school before her freshmen year, so you wouldn't have had any reason to meet her."

Danny nodded, but his brow creased slightly. Why did Dash brush right over the whole apology about his father? He nearly opened his mouth to ask more about it, but then he caught himself when he saw Kwan shaking his head. Something was definitely going on there, but for the sake of keeping the peace, Danny didn't pursue it.

"Danny!" Jazz waved her hand in the air.

Grinning, Danny rushed over to his sister and dragged her into a big hug. "Hey, _little_ sister." He laughed as Jazz punched him on the shoulder.

"You're only taller by, like, an inch." Jazz looked past him, and Danny turned his head to see she was staring at Dash and Kwan. "I still can't believe you're rooming with them."

"Hey, Jazz." Dash waved awkwardly, but he no longer had that lovesick look he would give her in high school when he was supposed to be studying.

"Let me just warn you." Jazz pointed a finger at him, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "If you dare hurt my brother, I will make you cry like a little baby."

"She's not kidding. She once had Skulker crying for an hour."

"Uh, Danny." Jazz tugged him closer then lowered her voice. "Is it wise to be talking about ghost stuff in front of them?"

"Yeah, it's okay. They kno- Ow!" Danny rubbed his shoulder where his sister punched him for a second time. "Look. I know it sounds crazy, but it's actually been really good having them in the know."

"We're not going to tell anyone about your brother's secret," Kwan assured her.

"Yeah, and they really helped out with this last case I had," Danny added. "Dash even got stabbed-"

"What?" Jazz shouted, shooting her gaze toward Dash, who actually looked a bit bashful to have her attention on him.

"Oh, um, right." Danny winced. "You always overreact when it comes to injuries. It wasn't that bad. I checked. I could count the number of stitches on one hand, and you know I've had way worse than that."

"Wait. You checked?" Dash's eyes widened, looking scandalized.

"That doesn't really make me feel any better." Jazz gave him a stern glare.

"I was worried, and you were making faces in your sleep that night we fell asleep watching movies on the couch. I just wanted to make sure you didn't accidentally pull your stitches somehow." Danny shrank back at the anger on Dash's face. "You wouldn't have gotten hurt if I hadn't dragged you into my problems."

"To be fair, he does the same with Tucker and Sam," Jazz said with her arms folded. "He thinks I'm bad about being over concerned with injuries, but he's worse. _And_ he puts it all on himself."

"Jazz!" Danny's face heated up. "Let's go." He shoved his sister toward the airport's exit. Then he paused and looked back to his roommates. "Um, do you want a ride?"

Kwan glanced to Dash. "Sounds good to me."

"Just don't go sneaking peeks at my scar again." Dash pointed and glared. "If you want to know, just ask me. And it's fine. I haven't even felt any pain since that first day."

Danny held up his hands. "I promise I won't sneak any more peeks."

"All right. Let's get going." Jazz led the way out of the airport and to her car.

"Did you bring your cat?" Danny asked as they walked through the airport garage.

Jazz shook her head. "No, I left her back at home with a house sitter. But I have lots of pictures I can show you." She popped the trunk of the car.

"Oh, you're lucky." Danny turned to grin at Dash and Kwan. "You won't have to worry about taking the RV." Jazz was too reasonable and levelheaded to drive their parents' crazy RV, bringing instead a normal car to pick him up. He shoved his luggage into the trunk.

"I'm not sure I want to ask about this RV." Kwan loaded his things in next, and Dash was last to put in his bags. "Your parents had a lot of crazy inventions, from what I remember."

Danny laughed as they climbed into the car. "You have no idea." He turned around in the front seat to face Dash and Kwan. "My parents have this one that looks like a giant dream catcher. I went through it by accident and ended up getting my ghost half and human half split apart."

"That doesn't sound like something safe to leave around."

"Oh, gosh!" Jazz rubbed at her head as she weaved through the parking lot to the exit. "Remember when you were 'fun' Danny?"

"Um," Danny flushed, "I try not to? That was a horrible idea. Wait. You knew?"

"Well, I'm not stupid." Jazz rolled her eyes. "I knew something was up when you were clearly acting not like yourself."

"What exactly is the story behind 'fun' Fenton?" Dash asked, his eyes narrowing with disbelief that teen Danny was ever "fun."

"Uh, well, I wanted to spend more time hanging out with my friends," Danny rubbed at the back of his neck, "but fighting ghosts kept getting in the way. So I used that invention to separate myself so I could do both. It," he winced, "didn't go quite the same as that first time, and I ended up being 'fun' Danny and 'super' Phantom."

"Both of which had their own little obnoxiousness," Jazz piped in, which only made Danny feel more embarrassed.

"Well, I learned my lesson, didn't I?"

"Thankfully!" Jazz smiled and reached over to pinch his cheeks. "Because half of you isn't as great as the whole you."

"Oh, I'm going to be sick," Dash groaned.

"Please!" Kwan snorted. "Like you aren't sickeningly cute with your sister."

"Oh! How is Izzy?" Jazz glanced back, smiling at Dash. "If I recall, last time I saw her, she wanted to be a fighter pilot."

Dash chuckled. "Yeah, she outgrew that phase."

"Wait. You knew Dash had a sister?" Danny gaped at his sister.

"Well, yeah." Jazz blinked, one eyebrow lifting in confusion. "I did visit his house a few times to tutor him."

"I went to his house before." Danny frowned.

"Yeah, once," Dash pointed out. "And it was for a party. I made sure my family wasn't going to be home that night. I can't really look like a cool kid if I've got my little sister hanging around my party, can I?"

Danny's mouth pursed slightly. He felt like he missed a huge part of whom Dash was by not knowing he had a sibling. "Did you feel that way about me?" He turned to his own sister.

"Danny, you know perfectly well that I didn't care about popularity." Jazz frowned when Danny raised his eyebrow, looking completely unconvinced. "Wanting friends is completely different from wanting popularity. I only wanted some friends to hang out with. I didn't want to be, well, like Paulina, queen of the school."

"Being popular isn't always the greatest thing in the world," Kwan said. "It's hard work. And that's from being _next_ to the super popular guy."

"Hey, people loved you!" Dash nudged Kwan in the ribs with his elbow. "They liked you for being such a nice guy." Kwan didn't seem all that convinced.

"Who am I dropping off first?" Jazz questioned, throwing a quick glance to the backseat.

"Oh, you can just drop us off at Kwan's place," Dash answered.

"You don't stay with your family for Christmas?" Danny tried not to frown, but he couldn't help the inkling of concern threatening to slip out.

"I tend to spend Christmas Eve with Kwan's family." Dash shrugged. "Then I'll meet my mom and sister for brunch on Christmas day."

Danny couldn't help thinking it was a little odd. A simple brunch to celebrate Christmas? But he didn't comment about it out loud. He settled back in the passenger's seat, watching the scenery pass as Kwan directed Jazz to his house. A foot of snow already covered the ground. It snowed last Saturday when they finally discovered what happened to Sawyer's body, but it was a light snowfall that melted away by the next morning. Here in Amity Park, it didn't look like the snow would be melting anytime soon, which was okay by Danny. He always liked waking up to a white Christmas, especially if they planned on not going anywhere for the day.

He came out of his thoughts when Jazz pulled the car over and parked in front of a house Danny didn't recognize, which wasn't surprising since he never went to Kwan's house. The big picture window for the front room had its blinds open, and Danny could see a group of people, some around Kwan's age and some were children, decorating a big Christmas tree. They looked happy, and Danny was almost jealous of the big family. Almost. He liked having it being just the four of them when he celebrated Christmas with his family. If they had more relatives, it would probably feel overbearing, like he couldn't get a second to himself, after a while.

"Thanks for the ride," Dash said, opening the door to slide out of the car.

"Thanks! We really appreciate this, Jazz." Kwan followed Dash.

"Oh, it's no problem." Jazz waved off the thanks. "It was nice to see you both again." She smiled as she opened the trunk for them.

Danny hesitated then climbed out of the car. He walked around to the back as Dash and Kwan pulled the luggage from the trunk. "Um," he scratched behind his ear, staring at the ground, "you probably already have plans and everything, but um, if you wanted to, maybe, do a gift exchange thing-" He trailed off, panic seizing his throat as he realized something. What if Dash and Kwan didn't even get him anything for Christmas? He would feel like a jerk if he didn't get them anything, but it was entirely possible, they didn't even think about getting him a gift. He found himself feeling like the fourteen-year-old loser he was at the start of high school trying to get the A List kids to like him.

"Well, Dash and I usually just exchange gifts with my family," Kwan said, frowning slightly as Dash slammed the trunk shut. "But we could always do it after Christmas."

"Yeah, sure!" Danny bobbed his head. "Just text me when you want to meet up." He hoped he wasn't grinning like an idiot. "Um, well, I guess I'll see you later then." He waved and bumped into the back bumper when he backed up a step.

"See you." Dash shouldered one bag then dragged his suitcase up to the front door.

"Have a good Christmas!" Kwan gave him a hug before he walked off to join Dash.

With his cheeks slightly red, Danny got back into the car. He waved to his roommates, who waved back, as Jazz pulled away.

"You have it bad, don't you?"

"What?" Danny's voice cracked, his blush darkening as his eyes widened.

Jazz chuckled at his response as she drove them home. "I don't need any training in psychology to know you, baby brother. What I can't figure out is which one of them you like." She glanced sideways at him like she would be able to read the answer on his forehead if she looked hard enough.

"It's not," Danny fidgeted, twisting at the cuff of his coat, "one of them." He winced, hesitantly glancing at his sister.

"Wait." Jazz shook her head, her brain grinding to solve the puzzle. "It has to be one of-" She snapped her wide eyed gaze toward him.

"Jazz, the road." Danny pointed at the road ahead of them as they came to a stop sign. Another car was already crossing the intersection.

Jazz hit the brakes, stopping at the stop sign. "Danny!" She gaped at him, mouth hanging open wide. "You like both of them? Dash _and_ Kwan?"

Danny winced. "I know. I've never liked two people at once." He wiped a hand over his face, which felt like it would never stop burning. "But that's not why things ended with Hayley," he added quickly, turning a serious look to his sister.

"Oh, I know." Jazz waved a hand. "Hayley explained it all to me. And while it did disappointment, I wouldn't want you two forcing yourselves to stay together if you didn't love each other. And it sounds like Hayley found someone."

"Yeah," Danny smiled as Jazz drove through the intersection and continued to their house. "They seem really happy with each other."

"Don't think you can distract me. I want to know more about this whole liking two guys thing."

Danny chewed on his lip, glancing out the window. "What am I supposed to say? I doubt anything will come of it. And anyway, how can I even consider pursuing one of them if I can't figure out which one I like more?"

"Why are you treating this as one or the other?" Jazz frowned.

"What do you mean?" Danny's brow furrowed, not understanding the question.

Jazz sighed. "Danny, there are some people who form happy, healthy relationships with more than one partner. _And_ ," she stressed before Danny could speak, "I'm not talking about people who have relationships with multiple partners without the others being aware or that whole sister wives thing. I'm talking about three, sometimes more, people who all love each other equally in a relationship. I know it sounds odd. It's not exactly something talked about in the best of light. Mostly it's confused for those other things. But the first thing you have to do is actually talk to Dash and Kwan about your feelings."

Danny laughed uneasily. "Maybe if I want to be punched in the face.

Jazz stared flatly at him after parking the car in front of their house. "Danny, if they've matured enough to become friends with you and live in an apartment with you, I think they can be mature enough to talk about feelings with you. And how do you even know what they might feel for you? Have any of you even sat down to talk about your feelings for each other? You're just going to sit in this constant state of not knowing and it's going to make you miserable if you don't say something."

"And," Danny's gaze darted around, "you'd be okay with that? If I somehow ended up in a relationship with Dash _and_ Kwan?"

"Danny," Jazz slapped her hand down on his shoulder and leveled a serious stare boring into his eyes, "I want you to be happy. If that means you love two people, then I will support you."

Danny stared uncertainly then smiled. "Thanks, Jazz."

"Great! Now come on. Mom and Dad are waiting." Jazz climbed out of the car, and Danny followed. They grabbed his things out of the trunk then walked up to the front door.


	50. Chapter 50

The moment they walked through the door, the relatives were on them. The adults kept back, waiting their turns to hug the new arrivals. The children didn't have as much restraint and rushed forward to practically tackle Dash and Kwan. Dash chuckled as a pair of six-year-olds tugged on his hands.

"Come see the tree!" The two girls pulled him toward the front room.

"Katie, Zoe, let them settle before you drag them all around the house," their father said, giving them a stern stare. "It's great to see you both again." He pulled Dash in for a brief hug before hugging his cousin.

"How's the practice going, Ryoo?" Kwan asked while Dash crouched down to be at eye level with the twin girls.

"When did you two get so tall?" Dash dropped his hands on their heads, ruffling their sleek black hair. Katie liked to keep her hair short, barely reaching past her chin. Zoe's hair reached close to the middle of her back, which made identifying the twins much easier.

"I grew an inch!" Zoe said proudly.

"I grew an inch and a half!" Katie stood up taller almost lifting herself onto her toes so she would appear to be the taller twin.

"No, you didn't!" Zoe gave her sister a little shove.

"Hey, hey!" Dash put a hand between them. "That's not very nice." He frowned at them. "If you're not going to be nice, I might have to keep some presents for myself."

Both girls gasped with their eyes wide, horrified at the idea of having presents taken away. "We'll be good!"

"Good." Dash pulled them both in for hugs then stood. He greeted the rest of Kwan's relatives in a slow progression down the hall.

"Okay. Okay." Ryoo clapped his hands for everyone's attention. "Let them go put their things up in their room."

Kwan sent his cousin a look of thanks before he and Dash carried their luggage upstairs. The house was cramped with all the relatives visiting for Christmas. Dash and Kwan got stuck with an attic room, which wasn't the best because of the drafts that kept it cool, but Kwan's parents kept it nice and clean. They dumped their things at the foot of the beds. Dash stood up straight and sighed.

"Do we have to go back down? We could just stay up here all night instead."

Kwan clapped his hands onto Dash's shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. "Be brave. Remember. They can smell fear, and they will pounce on it."

"Just five minutes of peace first?" Dash groaned when Kwan grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the attic room. Before they even reached the second floor, he could hear the loud chatter of Kwan's family. He loved them, honest, but it was late and he was exhausted from the plane ride and hungry. He wanted to eat then sleep. In the morning, he would be better to handle the large family gathering.

"This won't take long," Kwan promised as they continued down to the ground floor. "Just a quick meal. Then we can go to bed."

Dash snorted. "When is anything quick when all your family is around?"

Kwan chuckled. "Okay. Good point." He paused at the foot of the stairs and turned around to Dash. "I'm glad that things are in the open. About Danny. But, um, maybe next time you want to know more about his relationships, don't start by bluntly asking about the sex. I mean, you wouldn't feel comfortable if he just randomly asked about how sex was with any of your prior partners, right?"

Dash flushed lightly as he reached up to rub his neck. "Um, yeah, I get it." He groaned in frustrated, scratching a hand through his hair until it was all mussed up. "I just got it stuck in my head. Didn't you wonder about how that would work? Merpeople are all smooth down there. How does it even work? And he said _mostly_ as human. That means there were times when Will was a merman when they did it."

"As curious as I might be," Kwan rolled his eyes, "I know better than to be so blunt about it."

"You know me." Dash grinned, giving his friend a nudge. "I'm not one for subtly, am I?"

Kwan shook his head as he led the way to the dining room where the rest of his family was waiting to eat dinner. Even though it was already pretty late, the family waited for them before serving dinner. Some of the children, being young, already ate and went to bed. Dash ended up being placed between Katie and Zoe, who always seemed to want his attention. Kwan joked last year that they might have a crush on him. He glanced down the table to see Kwan got stuck between two of his aunts. It was strange how they could make him look small. It wasn't that they were bigger than he was, because they were tiny old ladies. But Kwan would shrink in on himself when placed between them. Dash knew why. Kwan hated when his aunts started asking why he didn't have a wife yet or when he would finally have some little ones.

"Dash, Dash!" Katie tugged at his sleeve. "Are you going to help decorate the tree?"

"You know it!" Dash grinned he filled his plate with bits and pieces of the various dishes on the table. Kwan's family went all out when it came to family meals. "But it's pretty late, so we might have to finish that in the morning."

"Aw!" Katie pouted.

"Dash," Zoe looked up to him with smears of sauce already around her mouth, "are you going to be Uncle Kwan's prince?"

Dash nearly choked on his sip of water. "W-What?" His ears burned.

"Because you're the only one he ever brings home," Zoe said, pretty much eating the filling out of the eggroll with her fingers and leaving the fried wrapper untouched.

"Uh, well, that's just because we're friends." Dash smiled at her, but it faltered slightly. As much as he would like to come home for Christmas and announce to Kwan's family they were dating, he doubted that would happen. "Anyway, I think Kwan could do a lot better than me. Don't you think so?"

"No way!" Zoe shook her head. "You're awesome!"

"I'm truly honored you think so. But you're pretty awesome yourself."

"I know." Zoe grinned as she went back to happily eating her eggroll.

Dash chuckled. "Are you girls going to make cookies to leave out for Santa?"

Katie bobbed her head. "Mom's gonna let me work the mixer when we make them."

"Wow!" Dash gaped at her. "I wasn't allowed to use the mixer until I was at least nine."

"It's because we're more mature than you." Zoe licked some of the sauce off her fingers.

"Ah, I can't argue with that logic."

The dinner dragged on, as it tended to do with Kwan's family. Katie and Zoe were practically asleep against him by the time their parents came around to collect them and take them off to bed. At that point, Dash managed to grab Kwan, and they made their escape up to their attic room for some quiet time.

"So how bad was it with your aunts?"

"They're so disappointed they won't get to see me with a little one of my own before they die." Kwan rolled his eyes. "All I can say is I'm glad I'm a guy. Because my cousin Kim thinks she'll probably spend the rest of Christmas hiding in the bathroom if our aunts keep pestering her. She's scared to tell them she's asexual."

Dash winced. "With the way your aunts are? I wouldn't want to tell them that either."

"You're lucky they never try to corner you and ask about why _you_ don't have a wife and children yet." Kwan pulled one of his bags to him. "Let's get some of these presents wrapped."

Dash hunted around for the wrapping papers, scissors, and tape. Then he joined Kwan on one bed, and they worked on wrapping the gifts for their families. Since there were a lot of people in Kwan's family, they tended to bring little things back with them. Tomorrow, they would find time to slip out of the house to get some bigger gifts and toys for the children. By the time they finished, Dash was ready to crawl into bed.

"Hey, Dash," Kwan said after they got ready for bed and turned out the lights.

"Hm? What?" Dash turned his head in the direction of Kwan's bed, though it was too dark and his eyes hadn't adjusted so he couldn't actually see his friend.

"Um, well, we haven't really talked again since, you know." Rustling came from Kwan's side of the room. "I don't want to sound like I'm nagging or something, but I just want to know how you're doing. Is everything okay? Do - Do you need to talk? About anything?"

Dash was glad for the darkness which hid his blush. Normally, he would be perfectly fine discussing his romantic interests with his best friend. But how could he do that when one of them _was_ his best friend? "No, everything's fine." He shook his head even though it couldn't be seen. "I mean, now that I've accepted that I'm bisexual, everything is fine. Before I felt kind of weird and confused, but now that's pretty much all gone."

"Oh." It sounded like disappointment tinged his voice. "Okay. Well, if you ever need to talk, you know I'm here for you."

"Yeah, I know." Dash closed his eyes as silence fell over the room.

"Dash?"

"Hm?"

"Um, it's probably none of my business, but-" A beat of silence. "Never mind."

"What? And don't say never mind. Just spill whatever it is."

Kwan sighed. "Well, you haven't dated anyone since that blind date with Celeste. And now you've realized you're bisexual. Uh, I guess what I'm trying to get at is: Have you had any interest in anyone since then?"

Dash tried not to move. He feared any noise he made would give away his feelings. "I guess I just haven't really gotten the courage to pursue anything. Admitting to myself I'm bisexual is one thing. Actually going out and trying to ask out a guy for the first time? That - That's a bit scary."

"I thought the great Dash Baxter never got scared of anything." He was teasing, his voice light with amusement.

"We both know I had things I was terrified of."

"Are you going to talk to Danny about that?"

The question was like a kick to the back of his knee and left him flailing for balance. If he ever dreamed of pursuing something with Fenton, he would probably have to talk more about his family and growing up. That was a terrifying prospect to him. Dash bit the inside of his cheek. "I'll have to say something eventually, won't I?"

"Danny's as stubborn as you are sometimes. And I think he's suspicious of something after your little comment at the airport."

Dash groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. "I'll worry about that later. We should get some sleep."

"Right. Night, Dash."

"Night, Kwan."

Morning involved being woken up by children piling onto their beds. Dash grunted when they landed on his back. To him, it didn't matter what time it was, it felt much too early to be awake.

"Come on!" Katie whined.

"We wanna decorate the tree!" Zoe pulled on his shirt.

"Get up! Get up! Get up!" the other children chanted.

"Okay. Okay!" Dash held up his hands like he was surrendering. "We're up." Kwan muttered, and it might have been a disagreement. "Go downstairs and wait for us. We have to get dressed first."

The children pouted, wanting to start right that second, but they filed out of the room so the adults could dress in peace.

"If I have a child," Dash said when they were alone, "can I just skip to disgruntled, moody teenager?"

Kwan chuckled, still laying in bed. "I don't think it works that way."

Dash grabbed some clothes out of his suitcase. "It does if you adopt."

Throwing off his blankets, Kwan climbed out of bed. "Sawyer really got to you, huh?"

"She was a cool kid. I kind of wish she could have stayed longer." He pulled on his clothes. "But I know she couldn't. It's a shame things ended the way they did for her."

"Yeah." Kwan frowned as he stared at his clothes, trying to decide what to wear. "The cops didn't want you to stay?"

Dash shook his head. "They said they'd contact me if or when they need me. But I think they'll have enough of a case to keep him locked up for a long time even if I don't testify to what happened in the park. They have Paige for a witness too."

Kwan tugged on a sweater then glanced over. "Speaking of the park, is your injury okay?"

Dash rolled his eyes. "If I can have a bunch of kids jump on me without it splitting open, I think it's fine."

"Okay." Kwan lifted his hands. "I won't ask again."

"Good." Dash guided Kwan out of the room and down the stairs.

The rest of the family was already awake. Dash wouldn't be surprised if they all woke up at least an hour ago. They had breakfast foods prepared too. Dash scooped up some of the oatmeal into a bowl and grabbed a banana from where they sat on the counter. They shoveled their food down in a hurry, seeing the children eagerly waiting in the doorway for them so they could finish decorating the Christmas tree. When they finished eating, they cleaned their dishes and set them on the drying rack then headed into the front room, to the great joy of the children.

It wasn't until late afternoon that they managed to escape the house and make a trip to the mall for some gift hunting.

"Okay. So what I gathered from all of that is: Zoe likes Barbie's and Katie is obsessed with science things," Kwan listed as they walked through the mall.

"Lee loves dinosaurs, and Jordan wants some kind of board game. It didn't sound like he particularly cared which one. He just wants something the family can play together."

They headed straight for the toy store to purchase gifts for the children. Hopefully, they would return to Kwan's parent's house while the children were still out playing in the snow in the backyard. Then they could sneak back up to the attic and get the presents wrapped without the children even knowing. They hurried through the aisles, looking for gifts for the children.


	51. Chapter 51

Their trip to the mall was a successful venture, and Dash was even able to pick up a few things for his mother and sister. When they returned to his house, Kwan managed to intercept the children and distract them before they could dig into the bags and see what they got. Dash rushed the bags upstairs to their room in the attic, but that didn't stop the children from pestering them about the gifts.

"Now, now," his cousin Kim said, placing her hands on her hips as she stared sternly down at the children. "If he tells you what he got, that would ruin the surprise for Christmas morning. You want to be surprised, don't you?" Her question was met with some mumbled agreements and pouts. "Now go on!" She shooed them away to give Kwan some room to breathe. "I think Ryoo has a game ready for all of you." The children rushed off to go find Ryoo.

"Thanks." Kwan sighed as Dash returned from upstairs.

"You work with kids all day, but you can't handle this handful?" Kim's eyebrow lifted.

"Correction." Kwan held up a finger. "I work with teenagers. They're completely different from children."

Kim shrugged. "Is there really much difference?"

"Sometimes it doesn't feel like it," Dash said, leaning against the wall.

"Children are more exhausting," Kwan argued. "They always want to be doing something. Teenagers typically don't want to hang out with the 'uncool' adult types too much."

"That is true." Dash nodded. "But they're still capable of throwing tantrums just like children."

"I never denied that."

Kim made a noise then shook her head when both men looked to her. "Nothing. I was just remembering something. From work." She smiled as she slapped a hand onto Kwan's shoulder. "I'd apologize for sticking you between our aunts, but I was about to go insane from their pestering."

Kwan shook his head. "If I can give you a break to save your sanity, I'm happy to take the attention off you." He wrapped one arm around Kim, pulling her in for a quick hug.

"Okay. Okay." Kim pushed him away, but she smiled. "They want us to help out with dinner." She headed down the hall to the kitchen.

"Where did the day go?" Dash sighed, moving to lean on Kwan from behind. "I swear we just woke up and already it's almost time for dinner."

Kwan chuckled as he reached up to pat his friend on the head. "It's the children. They're little energy suckers." He took a step toward the kitchen. "Now come on. Or you'll get stuck with onion cutting duty."

"Ugh, no! Anything but that!" Dash followed a step behind him as they walked down the hall to the kitchen.

Already, the kitchen felt pretty cramped with several of Kwan's relatives working on preparing their dinner. As soon as they entered, one of Kwan's aunts handed them assignments, thankfully neither of them getting stuck with chopping up the onions. The work went fairly fast with all of them chopping and dicing and mixing. The kitchen was filled with the various aromas of what they cooked and the chatter of Kwan's relatives, mostly the aunts and Kwan's mother gossiping about people they knew. The younger generation would catch each others' gazes then roll their eyes at whatever silly thing the older generation was saying now.

When they finally sat down to dinner, Dash thankfully snagged a seat next to him. Kwan didn't think he could stand two dinners in a row being stuck between his aunts. He got the feeling Dash knew that. He glanced down the table to his mother sitting beside her sisters. What would they be talking about? Would they say anything negative about him? It wouldn't surprise him if his mother brought up the disappointment she felt about him. When he felt a nudge against his leg, Kwan snapped his gaze back to his friend.

"Don't even start going down that line of thinking." Dash stared sternly, and Kwan sighed. It was easy to say he wouldn't, but he couldn't always keep himself from falling back into negative thoughts.

"Have you already made your plans for tomorrow?" Kwan stabbed his fork through a spear of asparagus then raised it up to bite off one end.

Dash shrugged a shoulder as he pushed around his mashed potatoes, making a little hole in the center of the pile. "We're going to meet up around eleven. I don't think it will take very long. You know how my mom is. A quick brunch then she's off to socialize with her friends. I think it's easier on her when she doesn't have to spend a lot of time with me. I think she still blames herself for not stopping what happened." He picked up the gravy and poured a little into the hole he made. "But what could she have really done? If she tried to stop it, he just would have hit her too."

Kwan reached over and gave Dash's hand a quick squeeze while no one was looking. "What does Izzy say?"

"She tries to get us to have a family Christmas again, but," Dash shrugged, "it's just not the same as when she was a little kid. It was easier to pretend everything was okay back then. I think we shielded her from most of what happened."

"I wish there was more I could have done back then." Kwan frowned at his dinner.

"You were just a teen too. There wasn't much you could have done."

"I could have told someone."

"I made you promise not to." Dash nudged him with an elbow. "Now let's talk about something less depressing."

Kwan gave half a smile, and their conversation switched to something of a lighter tone. After dinner, they helped with the clean up and packing away the leftovers. Then they all gathered in the family room where the older generation sat and chatted. Kwan and Dash joined the others, sitting on the floor to play games with the children before it was time for the little ones to go to bed.

"But we want to stay up a little longer!" Lee complained.

"Yeah, we want to see Santa!" Jordan agreed.

"Santa doesn't come if you're awake," Zoe argued. "He only comes if you're good and go to bed on time."

"Nu-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Okay, okay," Ryoo cut in before they could continue the back and forth. "Regardless of the rules Santa follows, I say it's time for bed."

"As do I," added Rika, the mother of Jordan and Lee. "Come along." She picked up Lee and took Jordan's hand. Ryoo followed, ushering his daughters. The other parents followed suit, taking their children off to prepare for bed.

Slowly, the family headed to bed. Kwan and Dash brought up the end, waiting for everyone else to finish before claiming the bathroom to wash up and brush their teeth. Then they headed up to the attic to sleep. Kwan dropped onto his bed and let out a long sigh. He almost couldn't believe it was Christmas tomorrow.

"What do you think Danny is doing?" Kwan wondered out loud.

"Partying," Dash answered bluntly.

Kwan rolled his eyes then turned his head to face his friend. "Really? You think he's out partying?"

"No." Dash snorted as he tossed something. It landed on Kwan's chest but wasn't heavy enough to earn a grunt from him. "But what kind of answer were you expecting me to give you? He's probably just hanging out with his family. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if he passed out in bed hours ago."

Kwan shrugged as he sat up. "I guess I just wondered how different Christmas is for him. It must be pretty quiet. And he wouldn't have to share a room with anyone."

"You love sharing a room with me." Dash grinned. "It's gotta be better than sharing with all those kids."

Kwan laughed. He couldn't imagine being stuck in a room with a bunch of children, who probably weren't even asleep at that moment, being too excited for Christmas and presents in the morning. And how could he deny enjoying sharing a room with Dash? He would love to share more than just a room, but he couldn't say that out loud.

"Now are you going to open it or what?" Dash leaned back on his arms with a grin plastered on his face.

Rolling his eyes, Kwan grinned. He dropped his gaze to the gift in his hands. It was wrapped in simple silver paper with no designs that screamed "This is a Christmas gift!" Every year, they exchanged their gifts privately on Christmas Eve night. His family never seemed to notice this fact. Kwan lifted it and pretended to listen as he shook it by his ear. "I'm guessing not a bell." He ripped open the wrapping paper and pulled the gift free. His eyes widened. "No way! Dash!"

"Well," he shrugged, "I saw it when I was at a comic store, and I remembered my dad destroyed the copy you had. I thought it would be a good gift."

"I love it!" Kwan's smile stretched wide across his face. He hadn't read comic books in years, but he still appreciated the gift. "Still love Nightcrawler." Placing the comic aside, he bent over to grab something from under his bed. "Heads up!" He tossed the gift wrapped in festive Christmas paper with snowmen all over it.

Dash caught the gift before it could smack him in the head. "Hm." He grinned, holding it up. "I wonder what this could be." The shape made it obvious. He tore off the paper, curiosity making his brow furrow. "Kwan!" He gasped once he saw what was on the football. "Wha- How did you even manage this?"

"I saw there was a signing event near where Paulina was going to be, so I asked if she wouldn't mind getting a football signed for me." Kwan tried to play it off like it was no big deal. "I know he's your favorite player, and Paulina was happy to do it."

"Thanks, man. This," Dash held up the football, "is really awesome."

Kwan shrugged, biting back a smile. "Thanks for the comic. It's really great. I can't believe you even remembered which comic it was."

"You cried for a week afterward."

Kwan threw his pillow. "I did not!"

Dash chuckled as he caught the pillow. "Thanks. I could use a second one."

"That wasn't so you could keep it!" Kwan jumped on top of Dash and tried to wrestle the pillow away from him.

"Hey!" Rika called from the stairwell. "I will come up there if you two don't quiet down!"

Kwan and Dash exchanged looks before they both laughed. Kwan grabbed his pillow and returned to his bed. Climbing under the blankets, he looked across to Dash. "Night."

"Night." Dash flipped out the light.

Kwan rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. A part of him hated this arrangement. Dash was right there, a mere five feet away, but it might as well be a hundred feet. Kwan loved spending time with his friend, but he knew there would always be that barrier that prevented them from being anything more. Closing his eyes, he tried to get some sleep before they had to wake up and deal with excited children wanting to open presents.

Morning felt like it came in the blink of an eye. Kwan groaned as he rubbed a hand over his face. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Dash was already up and dressed. He frowned with a dull glare.

"Thought you'd like the chance to sleep in a little," Dash answered the unasked question. "But you better hurry. Those kids will probably be up here soon to wake you up."

"Ugh, yeah." Kwan sat up and yawned widely. He wouldn't miss waking up to a knee in the back by a child jumping on top of him. Climbing out of bed, he grabbed some clothes from his suitcase and quickly changed. He glanced over to see Dash staring at him as he yanked down his shirt. "What? Is there something wrong with my shirt?"

Dash shook his head, almost like he was jerking himself out of some train of thought. "Let's get going." He headed out the door and down the stairs.

Kwan furrowed his brow, confused by the little exchange. Putting the oddness aside, he followed his friend down the stairs to the ground floor. His family was waiting, the children anxious to open the presents. Kwan would have liked to eat some breakfast first, but they always opened the presents before having breakfast. He and Dash joined the rest of the family, and once they were seated, presents were passed out. The children shrieked with happiness when they opened presents to see something they really wanted. The adults were tamer in their reactions. Kwan and Dash both got ugly Christmas sweaters they were forced to wear for the rest of the day.

"Oh, you shouldn't have, Mom, Dad." Kwan tried to smile naturally as he held up a law book. "It's just what I needed."

"Well," his mother said, smiling super sweetly, "I just figured in case you decided to do something worthwhile with your life, this might give you a good start."

"Yeah," his smile faltered, "worthwhile."

"All right!" Ryoo jumped up, smiling like nothing about the exchange was awkward. "Time for making breakfast. Kids, you should put away your new toys for the time being."

Everyone got up and started filing toward the kitchen and dining room. Parents of the children helped them to carry their toys off to their rooms so they wouldn't be left out and in the way.

Dash checked the time. "I should probably head out. I have to meet my mom and sister." He clapped a hand onto Kwan's shoulder and leaned in to whisper to him. "Don't let her get to you. You're an amazing teacher, and what you do _is_ worthwhile."

"Yeah, yeah." Kwan grinned and gave Dash a shove toward the door. "You better get going so you're not late." Dash's support meant a lot to him. He walked his friend to the door and waved goodbye as Dash headed off to meet his family.

"So-"

Kwan jumped when his cousin talked right next to him.

"-how long are you going to wait before you tell him how you really feel?"

"W-What?" Kwan wouldn't look at Ryoo, his face growing red. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ryoo rolled his eyes. "Kwan, I'm not blind nor am I an idiot. I've known for a long time how you really feel about Dash. I just figured you'd eventually say something to him."

"I," Kwan felt a little sick to know his cousin had figured him out, "don't want to lose him."

Ryoo threw an arm around Kwan's shoulder. "Dash isn't going to leave you because you confess to him. I've seen you two. You go through hell and stick together like you're glued at the hip. I know Dash isn't going to hate you for liking him as more than a friend. I want you," he poked a finger into Kwan's chest, "to be as happy as I am with Nicole. And another thing," his expression turned very serious, "ignore your mother. I'm jealous. I didn't have the guts to pursue the career I truly wanted to. But you did. And that is amazing to me."

"And what career did you want to pursue?"

"I always thought I'd be a pretty good opera singer." Ryoo puffed out his chest, and Kwan couldn't help but laugh at his cousin. "Now come on. Let's get some breakfast." The cousins walked toward the dining room where the rest of the family was gathered.


	52. Chapter 52

Perhaps the last thing Danny expected when he walked through the front door of his parents' house was his former arch nemesis to be sitting in the front room sipping from a bright neon green mug with the Fenton Works logo splashed across it. Their relationship had changed over the years, after Vlad stopped trying to kill his father and kidnap his mother. Vlad didn't "turn over a new leaf" and suddenly become a good man. He still had his plots that bordered on villainous, but now he felt more like creepy uncle than evil monster. They still butted heads from time to time, but it was less frequent. When he wasn't plotting something sneaky, Vlad could be a rather okay guy.

But Vlad never accepted the invitation to spend Christmas with them in the past. Seeing Vlad in their house left Danny with a wary feeling. Vlad smiled politely, like this was the most normal thing in the world.

"Danny!" His father slapped a large hand against his back, and Danny nearly pitched forward, caught off guard. "I hope you don't mind we decorated the tree already."

"Uh, no, that's okay." Danny stared a second longer before tearing his gaze away to smile at his father. "It looks great."

"The tree topper glows in the dark." His father grinned proudly.

Danny glanced back into the front room, noting the little ghost at the top of the tree. "I bet that looks pretty awesome."

"Did you eat at all?" asked his mother from the kitchen. "We ate a bit earlier, but I can whip you up something if you like."

"Ah, yeah. Something light is fine. I'm going to take my things up to my room." Danny grabbed his luggage and carried it up the stairs and down the hall to his old bedroom.

Other than his mother coming in once a month to clean, the room was basically left alone since his last visit over the summer. When he stepped through the door of his room, Danny's smaller bag hit the floor with a thump after he dropped it. He expected the room to be like he left it, though maybe a few things moved here and there from being cleaned, but a second bed taking up the other side of his room blindsided him. He knew who the bed belonged to without needing anyone to give him a hint. When he saw Vlad in the front room, he assumed the man was staying at a hotel while visiting. It wouldn't surprise Danny if Vlad _bought_ the hotel. Even though they made up, there was only so much of his father Vlad could take at one time, which left Danny wondering how Vlad was staying sane while rooming at the house.

Looking around, Danny saw no signs of destruction. He guessed Vlad was somehow managing to keep a cool head despite any annoyance his father might cause. After he stored his luggage away, Danny headed back down the stairs. His parents and Jazz had disappeared into the kitchen. Danny strolled into the front room then sat on the armrest of the couch.

"I thought you didn't do the whole Christmas thing."

"Your father can be rather persuasive sometimes." Vlad leaned forward to set the mug down on the coffee table. When he sat back, he glanced Danny over, his mouth pursing just slightly. "Since you came, I assume you managed to solve your little problem."

Danny glanced toward the door, making sure his parents weren't about to walk back into the room. "Necromancy," he explained in a quiet voice. He _almost_ wanted to gloat about discovering the answer before Vlad could, but it was Christmas and he didn't want to start anything that might ruin the holiday spirit.

"Surely you jest." Vlad frowned, clearly not liking the answer.

Danny shook his head. "I was surprised to discover everything was caused by a little boy who just wanted to help out his family. But I'm also relieved that was the answer. Can you imagine if it was someone who wanted to use ghosts for something even worse?"

Vlad's eyebrow arched. "You mean someone like me?"

"I didn't say that." Danny held up his hands. "But you did use ghosts to do some pretty bad stuff."

"And now I'm reformed." Vlad folded his arms, thinking over this new information. "And this... boy. He won't become a problem again."

Danny shook his head. "His mother is making sure he doesn't touch it until he's old enough to understand the consequences better. His older brother seems to have a bit of necromancy skill too, but I think he's too scared about the whole idea to misuse his abilities. I've offered to help, but I don't really know much more about it than they do."

"I always believed necromancy was just a crock made up by the movie industry." Vlad didn't seem too pleased with anything Danny said. "I suppose as long as they won't be a problem anymore, then I won't have to take any actions."

Danny frowned, green seeping into his eyes. "What _actions_ exactly?"

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Daniel, if the person behind this was a crazy murderer utilizing ghosts to perform his kills, what would you have done? You wouldn't be able to simply stuff them into your little Thermos and cart them off to the Ghost Zone."

"That wasn't exactly an answer."

"The answer is irrelevant now. I have no intention of harming the child for not understanding the ability they were using. And from what you've said, it sounds like his intention at least came from a good place."

"Your food's ready," his mother said, stepping into the front room. "What were you two talking about?" She eyed Vlad warily, like she suspected he was misbehaving in some way. Despite making up with each other, his mother still kept her guard up sometimes, which Danny felt was probably wise.

"Thanks, Mom." Danny grinned as he stood.

"Oh, we were just discussing some of my latest business ventures," Vlad lied easily, picking up his mug. "Though I think I was probably boring him with all the technical details."

Danny shot him a glare, wondering if that was meant to be a snide comment on his intelligence.

"I think Jack wanted you to look at something in the lab," his mother said, wearing a sickly sweet smile.

Vlad sighed. "How does he keep coming up with something new to show me?" He strolled off to find Danny's father.

"So," Danny said, following his mother into the kitchen after Vlad disappeared, "what is he even doing here?"

His mother shrugged. "Apparently, he decided he wanted to visit us for Christmas this year. I'm not sure why the change of heart. But your father certainly is enjoying having him around."

"Yeah," Danny grinned, "I bet it's driving Vlad crazy."

"I'm still a little worried about Vlad snapping at some point." His mother bit at her thumbnail.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Jazz said, looking up from the book she was reading at the kitchen table. "If he tries anything, we're all here to stop him." She reached over and patted the chair next to her. "Now come, eat, and tell us about this new school. Also," she grinned, leaning on one arm, "how is it rooming with Dash and Kwan?"

"Better than I imagined." Danny sat down and happily dug into the plate of food his mother placed before him. "I expected to be butting heads with Dash the whole time. You know, being bullied by him like in high school. But he's really changed a lot since graduating. We may have butted heads a bit in the beginning, but we've really grown a lot closer since I moved in."

Danny answered whatever questions his mother and sister asked while he ate his dinner. Thankfully, Jazz didn't ask any prying questions that might reveal the feelings he had for his roommates. From down in the laboratory, every once and a while, his father could be heard, talking excitedly about some new invention. Danny grinned to himself when he imagined the frustrated scowl Vlad probably wore at the moment.

He was fairly certain sharing a room with Vlad was some kind of punishment. He didn't know how long he stayed awake that night, but he found it difficult to fall asleep while Vlad snored loudly across the room. Shoving his pillow on top of his head, he rolled onto his side, hoping to drown out the snoring.

He woke up exhausted the next morning. Vlad was already awake and dressed with his bed freshly made by the time Danny forced his eyes open. Vlad smirked, the corners of his eyes crinkling with some amusement as he straightened the nice gray sweater he wore.

"You look like you could use some more sleep, Daniel." Vlad strolled out of the bedroom.

Danny nearly threw his pillow at him. With a sigh, he dragged himself out of bed, hoping Dash and Kwan had a better night than he did. After Danny was dressed and had breakfast, his father roped him into helping out with the lights. Their house was already fairly well decorated, but his father wanted to add a few more lights to the outside.

"You look like hell."

Danny stared flatly at his friend when he met them in the early afternoon. "Thanks, man. I love you too. Ow!" He frowned at Sam after she punched his shoulder. Then he shrank back, seeing the anger flashing in her violet eyes. "Uh, Tuck, why is she so mad?"

"I didn't say anything!" Tucker backed away like he feared he was about to get a punch too. Danny frowned at that reaction.

"You go off and become roommates with the jerks that bully you," Sam said, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes. She kept her hair cut short now so it was easier to maintain. She no longer wore a noticeable amount of makeup. It was now subtle and enhanced her natural beauty. She also triple checked that whatever makeup she did use wasn't tested on animals.

"In high school, but we've all grown since then," Danny argued.

"Then you have to go and tell them you're Phantom."

Danny shot a glare at Tucker, who stared up at the sky as he whistled. Where Sam's style was a little more polished from their high school days, Tucker went for casual comfort. His hooded sweatshirt advertised some band Danny never heard of, but Tucker must have thought they were pretty good. His hair was cut very short, and he had a bit of scruff growing like he was just starting to grow out a goatee.

" _And_ you have to like them? _Romantically_?"

"Really?" Danny shouted, and Tucker flinched.

"To be fair," Tucker held up his hands, "she would have figured it out without me saying anything." He pointed a finger at Danny. "And you know it."

Danny sighed tiredly. "Well, I was going to tell you, so you don't have to get all angry at me when you didn't even give me the chance to say anything."

Sam rolled her eyes, and the anger melted out of her expression. "Okay. So what's the deal? Are we going to have to put up them now? I mean, I guess, _maybe_ , I could tolerate Kwan." Her mouth thinned. "As long as he doesn't start reciting poetry."

"In his defense, he was just trying to engage in something you liked," Tucker said, hunching up his shoulders. "Isn't that what you do when you try to make friends with someone? He just didn't get the whole dark, Goth thing you all were doing."

"Whatever." Sam directed her attention back to Danny. "So what's the answer?"

"Uh, well," Danny tugged at an ear as he looked away, "for now, I don't think you need to worry about hanging out with them. We're planning to meet up at a later time, but they haven't contacted me to say when. They've got their family stuff to deal with anyway."

Sam sighed when Tucker nudged her with an elbow. "I guess, no matter which one you choose, we'll support you. Because we want you to be happy."

Danny chuckled. "Thanks. My treat for the first movie?"

"Drinks too," Sam insisted as they walked over to the movie theater to kick off their annual movie fest.

It was nearly midnight when Danny got home. He yawned tiredly as he entered the dark house. His parents believed in getting to bed early on Christmas Eve. Walking down the hall, he entered the kitchen and found Vlad working on a laptop at the table. He raised an eyebrow as he strolled a little farther into the kitchen.

"I thought you believed in being well rested."

Vlad lifted his gaze then rubbed tiredly at his eyes. "It's easier to sleep when you don't get e-mails about some idiot mucking up your work."

"It's Christmas Eve. You shouldn't be working." A grinned sneaked onto his face. "In fact, I know of a party we can go to."

"Daniel, I really don't care to attend a wild gathering of delinquents."

"I'm sure the other ghosts will appreciate you saying that about them," Danny said dryly. "Come on." He encouraged Vlad to get out of his chair. "It's the one night when all ghosts get together with no malice toward each other and have a good time." He urged Vlad toward the laboratory. "Your work will still be there when we get back. We don't have to stay forever. We can pop in for a little while, make our appearance, and be back here before anyone even knows we left the house. Have a drink and chill for a bit. Relaxing sometimes is good for you."

"Well, I suppose I could use a getaway after dealing with your idiot father."

"You say that, but I know you love him." Danny dodged when Vlad tried to smack him for the comment. He checked that his parents didn't have any alarms that might go off then opened the Portal. After the two of them transformed, they passed through the Portal. Danny led the way to the usual spot where the Christmas Truce party was held.

"Danny!" Ember grabbed him the second he entered the party.

Danny barely got the chance to throw a glance back, but he thought for sure he caught a hint of panic wash over Vlad's face. Maybe he flashed back to embarrassing college parties with a bunch of drunk jock types harassing him.

"You haven't contacted me." Ember let go of him when they were in a corner and a little away from the rest of the crowd. She folded her arms, her foot tapping angrily to the beat of the music. "I've been all around warning people about what was happening, but you never reached out to tell me if you figured out anything about what was going on. Did you solve it? Are we safe? Should we still be worried?"

"It's fine." Danny smiled gently as he placed his hands on Ember's shoulders. "Everything's fine now. It was just a kid messing with necromancy, but he's learned his lesson now and won't be doing it anymore."

"Wait." Ember held up a hand. "Necromancy is real?"

"Apparently. Though I guess it's super rare. But like I said, there's nothing to worry about now."

"Oh, good!" Ember placed a hand over her chest as she breathed out in relief. "That had me pretty worried." She punched him on the arm. "You know I don't like worrying."

Danny rubbed his shoulder. "Ah, but you don't worry easily."

"I suppose you do have a point there." Ember glanced over his shoulder and smirked. "And I guess I should get back to Skulker before he starts acting like a baby because I'm ignoring him."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want him to throw a tantrum." Danny chuckled. After Ember left him, he checked around for Vlad and discovered the older half ghost got cornered by Spectra. Since it didn't seem like Vlad needed to be rescued, yet, Danny went off to greet some of the other ghosts he knew.


	53. Chapter 53

Dash pulled his old motorcycle out of the garage. When they went off to college, he left it with Kwan's family, and every year when they came back for Christmas, Dash would check up and do any maintenance on it when he got some free time. It also allowed him to get around when he needed to without having to borrow someone's car. After a quick check, he climbed onto the motorcycle, put on his helmet, then drove away from the house. His mother's apartment wasn't too far away, but Dash lazily took his time reaching the building.

He parked outside and sighed as he pulled off his helmet. He shouldn't dread this little Christmas brunch, but there was always this uncomfortable awkward air hovering around them when the three of them got together. Climbing off the motorcycle, he walked up to the front door and entered the building then took the elevator up to the sixth floor. The hall almost felt endless with every inch of it looking the same. Near the end of the hall, he knocked on the door of his mother's apartment.

"You're late!" Izzy said the second she opened the door.

"Good to see you too." Dash ruffled her hair as he passed her on his way into the apartment. "And we don't exactly keep to a schedule with this brunch thing. Hi, Mom." He walked over and gave his mother a hug, and she gave him a quick peck of a kiss on his cheek.

His mother's platinum blonde hair was pulled up in a tight bun. Her clothing was simple but elegant, as always, with a white blouse and light gray dress slacks. "I was just finishing preparing our brunch. If you two will go sit down, I'll bring it in."

"Mom, we can help out," Izzy said, rolling her bright blue eyes. Her long blonde hair was tied off in a braid she had draped over one shoulder. Her Christmas sweater was nearly as bad as the one Kwan's family got Dash. The difference was Izzy loved wearing those terrible Christmas sweaters. She would probably wear one all year around if she could.

Before their mother could grab anything, Izzy picked up the casserole dish then shot a glare to Dash. With a sigh, he picked up the plates of pancakes and bacon. They walked into the other room and placed the dishes in the center of the dining table as his mother brought in a plate of toast and a bowl fruit salad. Syrup, jams, and butter all sat out on the table.

"You really didn't have to make so much," Dash said as they sat down.

"I don't mind." His mother unfolded a napkin and laid it in her lap.

They all grabbed some from the various dishes to pile onto their plates. Then the awkward silence fell over them. Izzy glanced between Dash and their mother. She was normally the chatty one at these little gatherings, but the awkwardness was even getting to her.

"Okay." Izzy poured herself a glass of orange juice. "Can we _please_ put an end to this? I'm tired of every year, we meet for Christmas and then don't really do any talking. Every time I try to make conversation, I'm met with grunts and one words answers. So let's get it out in the open and put whatever the issue is behind us."

"What issue?" Dash bit off the end of a strip of bacon. "Any issue we had is dead and buried now."

Their mother slammed down her fork. "I am _sorry_ I wasn't strong enough to stand up to that man. He wasn't always like that. When we first met, he was a loving man. The change-" Her mouth pursed tightly. "It wasn't something that happened over night, though sometimes it felt like it came out of nowhere. It was little things he got angry at. Things only seemed to escalate after he started drinking."

"Mom." Dash sighed tiredly. Her story reminded him of what Paige told him about her relationship with Bryce. He didn't start out as an abusive jerk, but once the change started, it was hard for either woman to escape the relationship. "I don't blame you for anything that happened. And honestly, I'm glad he hit on me rather than throwing any punches at you or Izzy."

"And I always thought Kwan was the self sacrificing one." Izzy shoved a forkful of the casserole into her grinning mouth.

Dash rolled his eyes. "Maybe some of that rubbed off on me." He looked back to his mother. "My point is you don't have to keep putting the blame on yourself or seeking forgiveness from us. _He_ was the one to blame. _He_ should be the one seeking forgiveness. Instead he continued to spiral down the path of a shitty father, husband, and human being. I shouldn't say it, but I was _glad_ when he died. Because it meant you were finally free from him."

"We were all free of him that day." His mother frowned.

Izzy expression was grim, thinking back on that day too. "Okay," she said, trying to force a little cheer into her voice. "So now that's out in the open and talked about. Is everything good now?" She grinned, shooting hopeful looks between the two.

"Maybe not completely good," Dash frowned, "but it's a start."

Izzy's smile faltered, but she pushed forward. "Well, I have some good news anyway. I," her cheeks turned pink as she shyly lowered her gaze, "am pregnant."

"What?" Dash stared, stunned.

"Oh!" Their mother covered her mouth with her hands.

"I found out two and a half months ago." She shot a glare at them. "And yes, I know I'm not married and blah, blah, blah. The guy's okay. He's going to help out, even though we aren't dating. He's not a bad guy, and our breakup was mutual. But I wanted to fix whatever's wrong here." She gestured to all of them. "Because I want this child to have happy Christmas memories with their grandmother and uncle."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Dash asked then quickly added, "I mean financially. It's a lot of responsibility having a child. You'll have buy a lot of things for them, not to mention medical bills and education down the line."

Izzy rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm well aware of all that. Maybe not _every_ little detail, but I get this isn't like getting one of those cute little baby bunnies for Easter then giving it back a week later because I didn't realize the responsibility in taking care of it. And, like I said, I'll have Roger to help me out. He's actually pretty excited about being a dad."

"Come on." Dash grinned, nudging her under the table with his foot. "I'm your big brother. I'm allowed to worry about you. But I know you'll be a great mother."

"If you need, I can fly out sometimes to help out," their mother offered.

Izzy relaxed, the tension of their usual awkward Christmas brunch melting away after her announcement. They continued talking and enjoying their time together. It almost felt like things were normal, or as normal as they could be with their history. Dash hugged his mother and sister when it came time to leave. He demanded pictures after his nephew or niece was born, and Izzy promised with a roll of her eyes.

When he stepped out of the building, Dash checked his phone to see he had a message from Kwan. His friend had contacted Fenton about their gift exchange and set it for tomorrow afternoon. Pocketing his phone, he climbed onto his motorcycle. He hoped Fenton liked the gift, even if it was nothing special.

Fenton.

Dash shook his head as he drove back to Kwan's family's house. He needed to work on not calling him that anymore. Hadn't they become good enough friends for him to start calling him by his first name?

Danny.

Even thinking it felt strange to him. For too long, it was Fenton. The habit wouldn't be easy to break, but like anything else, he could work on it over time. What would Fenton's reaction be if Dash suddenly called him Danny? Dash imagined him being so surprised he sat there imitating a wide mouthed fish. He snickered at the image as he pulled into the driveway and parked his motorcycle.

"Just in time," Kwan said, sitting on the front step. He was all bundled up in a heavy winter coat with a scarf covering half his face and a knitted hat tugged down to cover the tips of his ears. "Kim just finished making some of her famous hot chocolate."

"Maybe we should save some," Dash suggested, grinning as he walked over to his friend. "We can bring some to Fenton."

Kwan smiled when he tugged down his scarf. "That's a pretty good idea. Let's go tell Kim set some aside."

Dash held out his hands, and Kwan grabbed hold, letting his friend pull him up to his feet. They entered the house together. "So Izzy is having a kid."

Kwan snapped his gaze toward Dash, his mouth gaping open and his eyes widening. "What? No way! That's great!" He threw an arm around Dash's shoulders, hugging him. "Wow! It's crazy to think little Izzy is having a baby." He shook away the awed expression as they walked into the kitchen.

\---------------------

Next day, Dash and Kwan played with the children in the morning, having a giant snowball fight in the backyard. Kwan's cousin Ryoo managed to nail Dash right in the face with one. Kwan laughed until Kim knocked him in the side of the head with a snowball. By the time they decided to call it, Dash was out of breath from running around and laughing so much. Their clothes were damp from all the snowballs that hit them. Dash and Kwan climbed the stairs to their attic room to change into some fresh clothes before they headed over to Fenton's house.

"We'll be back later," Kwan told his family when they came back downstairs. "We're going to meet a friend for a bit." He got a few goodbyes from those that were downstairs at the time. They left the house and climbed onto Dash's motorcycle. Kwan settled the bag with the presents between them then wrapped his arms securely around Dash's waist. "You still remember how to get there?"

Dash rolled his eyes. "I went there enough times for tutoring. Besides, it's hard to miss that giant eyesore of a sign."

"Don't say that out loud to them."

"I won't." His mouth twitched, trying to grin. Dash tore out of the driveway, Kwan squeezing his arms around his waist and pressing in closer.

"Do you think he'll like the gifts?" Kwan asked, shouting over the wind whipping past them.

Dash chuckled. "You worry too much." But he did worry a little, too. "I'm sure he'll like it." Hopefully, the uncertainty couldn't be heard in his voice.

When they pulled up to the Fenton house, Dash shook his head at the sign still posted outside. It wasn't the same one. Sometime over the years, they updated the sign, but it still looked tacky in his mind. They climbed off the motorcycle then walked up to the front door. Kwan pressed the doorbell, and they waited for someone to come to the door. No surprise, it was Fenton who opened the door.

"Hey." Fenton smiled, despite wearing an obnoxious green sweater with the logo of an F with a ghost. Dash guessed it was for the whole Fenton Works thing. Somehow, it didn't look all that bad on Fenton. "Come on in." He stepped back, opening the door wider for them. "Um," Fenton scratched at the side of his head as he closed the door after them, "do you want anything? To eat or drink?"

"Actually, we brought something." Kwan dug into the bag and brought out a large thermos. "It'll need some heating up though."

"Oh, sure! Yeah! The kitchen's this way." Fenton headed down the hall.

Dash bit his tongue before pointing out he knew exactly where the kitchen was. Unlike him, Kwan only came over to Fenton's house once during their four years of high school with Fenton. When they entered the kitchen, Fenton showed them where the cups and mugs were kept.

Kwan got down three mugs then popped open the thermos. "My cousin makes some amazing hot chocolate," he explained as he poured some into each of the three mugs.

"I love hot chocolate." Fenton smiled. "Oh!" He walked over to another cupboard and got down a plain, round tin. When he opened the tin, he held it out to show off little chocolate squares. "My dad loves fudge. This is his special Christmas batch. Just a hint of peppermint."

Dash plucked out one of the little squares and popped it into his mouth. "Mm, that's pretty good!"

"Right?" Fenton grinned as Kwan took a square of fudge too. "I'm tempted to ask him to make another batch to bring back with us." He placed the tin on the kitchen table then took the mug Kwan held out to him. He blew on it before taking a sip. "Mm!" His eyes widened. "That is amazing!"

"So, uh, are we doing the gift exchange?" Dash rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, right." Fenton set the mug on the table. "One sec. I need to go get them." He disappeared from the kitchen and returned a moment later. He looked a bit nervous as he handed them each their gifts.

"These are from us." Kwan grabbed the gifts from the bag, and the gifts were handed out.

"So," Fenton shifted as they stood there, "who should open first?"

Dash glanced to Kwan, who shrugged. "Everyone at the same time?"

"That sounds good." Kwan nodded.

"Sure," Fenton agreed.

On a count of three, they tore into the wrapping paper. Dash let his snowflake patterned Christmas paper drop to the ground as he held up his gift. His mouth parted in surprise. It was a hooded sweatshirt in Casper High School colors. In the center of it was the Casper High Raven logo, and above it read COACH. When he flipped it around, he saw BAXTER written across the top with his old football number printed below it. Kwan received a similar gift but with his own name and number.

"What the heck, Fenton?" Dash couldn't believe Fenton would get them something like this.

Fenton flushed. "Um, I was struggling a bit with what to get, and then this idea came to me." He shrugged. "I hope you like them." He worried his lower lip.

"I love it!" Kwan grinned, hugging Fenton.

"Oh, good!" Fenton placed a hand on his chest as he sighed in relief. Then he chuckled. "Thanks for my gift." It was simply a pair of knit pajama pants decorated with constellations and a black shirt with white ghost inside of a red circle with a line through it. "I love the moon pies." He chuckled when he saw the box. "These are great."

"Well, you know," Dash shrugged into the hooded sweatshirt, which was a good fit on him, "we figured since you like space and all."

Fenton rolled his eyes, though he seemed pleased with the gift. Dash almost sighed in relief. "Uh, so," Fenton hesitated, "well, my family's out for the moment. Do you want to hang out? We could make some popcorn, grab our hot chocolate, and watch a movie. Uh, that is, if you don't need to get back."

Dash checked with Kwan.

"I think we can hang out for a bit," Kwan said. "A little break before diving back into that chaos."

Dash chuckled but agreed, and Fenton grinned. After the popcorn was in the microwave, they walked into the front room to look through the movie collection to pick out something to watch.


	54. Chapter 54

The movie was coming to an end. Kwan chewed on his lower lip, his hands feeling sweaty as his stomach churned with anxiety. After the talk he had with his cousin, he thought maybe it was time to finally bite the bullet and admit his feelings to the others. With Danny's family out of the house, it seemed like the perfect time to do it. He would never get this chance at his house with all his relatives around, barely giving them a moment alone. But the more he thought about it, the more the doubt crept back into his mind. Ryoo might be right about Dash and how he would react, but it didn't make it any easier for Kwan to actually say the words out loud.

Kwan breathed in, trying to calm his racing heart. His lips parted as he scrambled to figure out how best to approach the topic.

Then the front door opened, Danny's mother calling out a hello. Danny got to his feet, leaving a gap between Dash and Kwan. He smiled as he took some of the bags from his mother to help carry them to the kitchen. Dash leaned over to snatch up the remote from the coffee table so he could shut off the movie. After Mrs. Fenton, Mr. Fenton and Jazz entered the house, followed by a man Kwan had little trouble recognizing. He remembered Danny mentioning Vlad Master was a family friend, and he even sought out some help from Mr. Masters before they discovered Cameron was using necromancy. Kwan didn't expect to actually meet the billionaire.

"Oh!" Jazz smiled when she entered the front room. "I didn't realize Danny had friends over."

"Yeah," Danny came back into the room after he dropped the bags off in the kitchen, "we just did our gift exchange. And, um," he tugged at his ear, looking off to the side, "we decided to hang out and watch a movie."

Jazz eyed the pair on the couch before her gaze slid back to her brother. "Why not have them stay for dinner? We got enough for a big meal."

A blush spread onto Danny's cheek. It was light, subtle, but noticeable when Kwan paid enough attention. "I don't know if they-"

"That would be great!" Kwan answered before Danny could finish speaking. His mouth felt cotton ball dry when the others turned their gazes onto him. "Well," he glanced toward Dash, "I mean, it might be nice to have a quieter dinner while we're here."

Dash frowned and scratched a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind it." He cracked a crooked grin. "I doubt your family would miss us."

"Oh, but Zoe and Katie just love you." Kwan grinned as he reached over to pinch Dash's cheeks.

Dash swatted at his hand. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"No," Danny said firmly as he pointed at them. "You are the guests. You sit there and relax. We'll have dinner ready in a little while." Then he disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Okay." Jazz sat down on the coffee table and leveled a glare at the pair. Dash stared back in confusion, but Kwan sat up at attention like he was a child about to be scolded by a parent. "Danny doesn't really want me saying anything. You've become roommates, and it sounds like you're all getting along well, which is great. But," her eyes narrowed dangerously, "if you do _anything_ to hurt my brother, you will regret it."

"Didn't we already go through this?" Dash lifted an eyebrow.

Jazz snapped her glare to him. "You," she pointed at him, "have the most to worry about. Kwan's a sweetheart. I know he would never intentionally hurt my brother, though the threat still applies to him. But you've already done a lot to hurt my brother just in high school. And I know Danny would rather keep silent and deal with everything on his own, in his own way, but I _will_ find out and you won't like what happens when I do."

Dash gulped, a face paling a touch.

"Dash isn't entirely like you remember him from high school," Kwan jumped in. "He's grown a lot since then. And since Danny came to live with us, we've all grown a lot closer."

Jazz folded her legs and leaned forward with one elbow balancing on her knee. "So," she rested her chin in her hand, "just how close have you grown?"

"Uh-" Kwan glanced toward Dash, flustered by the question. What kind of answer was she looking for exactly? Jazz had a piercing gaze like she could read their deepest thoughts, and with her expertise in psychology, Kwan almost believed it was possible.

"We've gotten to know him and become friends," Dash answered, shrugging a shoulder. "He obviously trusts us if he let us in on his secret."

Jazz considered silently for a while. "And what's his name?" She almost smirked as she glared Dash down.

"Fen- Danny!" Dash cursed under his breath. "Look. I'm working on that. Okay? I've always called him Fenton. It's not a habit I can just break overnight."

"I suppose I can give you a passing grade then." Jazz sighed as she stood.

"A passing grade?" Dash frowned. "I didn't realize we needed to pass your test to be friends with your brother."

"It's not about being friends." Jazz smiled before she walked toward the kitchen.

"Okay," Dash said slowly as he turned to Kwan. "What exactly do you think that was about?"

Kwan shrugged, wishing he knew. The last comment made his stomach drop. Did Jazz suspect? What if she mentioned something about it to Danny before he could get up the courage to say something himself? Thinking about it didn't help with his anxiety. He was about to get up and search for the bathroom when Danny popped his head back into the room.

"Dinner should be ready soon. If you want to clean up or anything, there's a bathroom in the hall." Danny pointed toward the hall entrance of the front room. Then he vanished again.

Kwan stood then followed the front hall until he found the door to the bathroom. Glancing into the kitchen, he spotted Danny having his sister taste something, a sauce probably. Then he stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. He washed his hands and splashed his face with a little water. Then he lifted his head and stared at his reflection in the mirror. _Okay, Kwan. This is just a little set back. You'll get your chance. You just have to wait for it_. After drying off his face and hands, he took a deep breath. Then he stepped out of the bathroom.

"Oh, sorry!" Kwan nearly bumped into Danny and instinctually grabbed hold of Danny's arm to keep him from falling.

Which he realized afterward was completely unnecessary. He yanked his hand back with a dark flush coloring his cheeks.

"It's okay." Danny smiled. "Everyone's in the kitchen. Just grab a plate and whatever you want." He slipped past Kwan and into the bathroom.

Kwan raked a hand through his hair as he walked down the hall. It would be a lot easier to go through with his plan of confessing if the rest of Danny's family didn't show up. How was he supposed to do this now? When he walked into the kitchen, everyone was already sitting at the kitchen table, which looked a bit cramped with so many people sitting around it.

"The plates are right there," Mrs. Fenton said, smiling as she pointed to the end of the counter. "We have various drink options. If you're curious, just ask."

"Or he could simply look in the refrigerator," Mr. Masters said before he sipped from a glass of water.

"Water's just fine." Kwan picked up a plate then looked over what was available. There was chicken in some creamy sauce and some cheesy looking potatoes. A salad sat in a bowl with a couple different dressing selections set out beside it. Kwan piled a little of everything on his plate, making sure to load up on some steamed vegetables. When he finished, he carried his plate and glass of water to the table to join the others. His seat was next Dash with an empty chair next to him, which he assumed was Danny's spot.

A moment later, Danny returned and sat down beside him. He grinned at Kwan before picking up his glass of water for a sip.

"So Danny was telling us you all live together and work at the same school," Mrs. Fenton said, trying to strike up a friendly conversation.

Mr. Fenton frowned as he stared at Dash. "Weren't you the jerk Jazz was tutoring?" The question almost made Danny snort out the water he was drinking.

"I was a jerk." Dash nodded, but his mouth pursed as he recalled the way he used to be. "But that's not who I am anymore."

"You should really see him," Danny piped in. "The students really love him. And he's an amazing coach. I still can't believe the team didn't make it to state championships. We were totally robbed by those bad calls."

"We'll get them next year," Dash said with determination in his voice.

Mr. Fenton still eyed Dash like he was uncertain about him, but thankfully, the conversation remained pleasant as Danny's family probed them with various questions. What got them into teaching? Where did they expect to be in five, ten, years down the line? Were they seeing anyone? What did they like to do outside of work? What was their longest relationship? Cats or dogs? How did they feel about having children of their own? Did they have any bad habits? No smoking?

Kwan was in need of a breather by the time the dinner was over. It felt like he just went through the "meet the parents" interrogation, even though none of them were dating.

"Sorry about all of that," Danny said when the three of them were sitting alone on the back steps of his house. "I guess my family can be a bit intense at times."

Kwan shook his head with a small smile. "My family probably would have been the same if we brought you over there for dinner."

Dash snorted, leaning back on his hands as he stretched his legs out in front of him. "They'd probably think your were dating since you never bring home anyone other than me."

Kwan stared at the ground between his feet as he face heated up. "Um," he licked his dry lips, and his dinner almost made an attempt to come back up, "speaking of dating."

Dash jerked up straight, her eyes growing wide. "Wait! You're not really dating someone, are you? If you are, I'm going to be seriously mad that you told me nothing about it."

Kwan closed his eyes for a moment. "No, I'm dating anyone. But-" Why were the words so hard to get out? It was like they kept getting stuck in his throat. "But I hope maybe I will be."

"Dating who?" Danny asked curiously. "I didn't think you were interested in anyone."

"You certainly didn't say anything to me." Dash frowned, sad that he wasn't the one Kwan went to, to talk about it.

"You," Kwan mumbled, swallowed the lump in his throat, then tried again. "Both of you." His statement was met with silence, and his heart felt like it couldn't decide whether it wanted to beat right out of his chest or stop beating altogether.

"Are you serious?" Danny asked, but he didn't sound mad or disgusted.

Dash laughed, and Kwan snapped his gaze to his friend, his heart sinking. Dash had a hand over his eyes, his head bowed and his shoulders shaking. "I thought I was nuts."

"What?" Kwan blinked, too confused to understand what Dash was saying.

"Because I didn't know how I would ever choose between the two of you," Dash said, still not looking at either of them.

"What?" Kwan repeated, this time his mind going completely blank.

"Wait. You like guys?" Danny asked, holding up his hands. "Since when? I was certain you were straight."

"I thought I was too." Sighing, Dash sat up straight. "But after Celeste, I realized that might not be the case. I started noticing all these cute little things about Kwan that just made me want to hug him or kiss him. And then you-" He waved a hand at Danny sitting on the other side of Kwan. "I don't even know. Started having some very not straight dreams about you. Both of you. So it was kind of hard to keep saying I was completely straight at that point." He raked a hand through his hair, maybe not even noticing the dark blushes on his roommates' faces. "But what do you do when you like two people? I can't date both of you. I don't think that would be very fair."

Danny cleared his throat. "Um, well, after we dropped you off from the airport, Jazz and I talked." He shifted, his gaze darting from his roommates then away in embarrassment. "And she pointed out that, well, we could date each other."

"Did you not just hear me?" Dash demanded. "How would that be fair? I don't cheat on the person I'm dating."

"Dash, calm down." Kwan placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let Danny explain."

"I didn't mean we'd date each other one or the other." Danny's face was dark red by that point. "I meant all three of us date, as one couple."

Dash's brow creased like he couldn't puzzle out the meaning. "How does that even work? Do we just go out on dates with all three of us? Wouldn't that be weird?"

Danny shrugged. "I've never dated two people as one big couple before. But," he bit his lip, hesitating, "would it really be that much different from how we've been living?"

"Well, we do know each other pretty well now," Kwan said, considering everything. "It's not like we'd be starting at a first date. We're more like two months of dating in. We _are_ living together already anyway."

"So we're basically, like, skipping over the whole trying to be impressive with the whole dating thing?" Dash asked for clarification.

"Occasional romantic acts would be appreciated though. So don't think you can just be lazy about things." Kwan glared, and Dash held up his hands.

"That's not what I was saying. I just mean we can be more casual about our dates. We don't have to go to some fancy restaurant. We can pick up takeout and have a nice cozy date night on the couch watching movies." Dash smiled. "That's what I've been wanting. A relationship that's already in that comfortable spot where we can just stay in and not have to worry about going out on a date. Which is nice for us, because after grading tests and papers, I don't really want to think about going out on some fancy date."

"So," Danny scratched at the back of his head, "are we officially dating now?" The three of them exchanged glances.

"I guess we are." Dash laughed, smoothing back his hair. "Wow. Not only my first time dating a guy, but my first time being in a relationship with two people. Is there a word for that?"

"I think it's polyamory," Danny answered. "I think that's what Jazz called it when we talked about it the other day."

Kwan leaned over and pressed his forehead to his folded arms. He couldn't believe it. Was any of this real? They were officially dating? It was too good to be true. It had to be a dream. It felt like a dream.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Dash and Danny both asked, worry sneaking into their voices.

"I've been in love with Dash since high school. I didn't think it was ever possible to be in a relationship with you." Kwan almost cried. "And now I get date both of you? This is seriously like a dream for me." Arms wrapped around him from both sides.

"You've seriously been in love with me since high school?" Dash asked, completely flabbergasted. When Kwan nodded, Dash asked, "How did I never know this?"

Kwan laughed, sitting up as he wiped at his eyes. "It was really hard keeping it from you. I was so scared you'd hate me."

"Kwan, I would never hate you." Dash squeezed his arms around Kwan.

"I think this is a good time to celebrate." Danny stood and offered his hands to them. "I think we have a little wine in the house. Maybe not the best. But we could always go with beer instead. But this is definitely a celebrate kind of moment."

Danny grinned as he pulled Dash and Kwan to their feet. They walked back inside, and Kwan couldn't help feeling like he would wake up any moment to discover this was merely a dream. Until then, though, he planned to enjoy it.


	55. Chapter 55

"The dopey grin is really starting to creep me out." Sam frowned as she finished lacing up her skates.

Danny, meanwhile, was still working on his first skate. His mind got distracted midway, leaving him practically a statue with said creepy dopey grin spreading onto his face. Even Tucker seemed a bit wary of Danny's expression. Shaking his head, he refocused on lacing his skates.

"Sorry." A grin tried to sneak back onto Danny's face. "I was just thinking about something."

"Care to fill us in on that?" Tucker eyed him cautiously.

"Not yet." Danny cast a glance toward the front entrance, which was in the line of sight from where they chose to sit to put on their skates. Dash and Kwan said they would meet him at the skating rink, but it seemed they were running late. When he turned back, he winced at the expectant looks on his friends' faces. "Just a few more minutes."

Tucker and Sam exchanged glances. "Is this going to be a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Good?" Danny bit his lip, his stomach trying to twist itself into knots. He wasn't entirely sure how this would go, but he hoped for the best.

When he met Sam's gaze, his doubt kicked in, outweighing the hope. His friends might support him in his relationships, but this was entirely different from his past relationships. This time, his friends _knew_ the men he was dating, and it was still strange to think that they _were_ dating. Sam and Tucker knew Dash and Kwan, or at least the way they acted back in high school. He could talk about how much the two jocks had changed until he had no more breath in him, but his friends would probably hold on to their doubt until they got to know Dash and Kwan too.

Thankfully, it seemed his family warmed up to Dash and Kwan over their dinner a couple of nights ago. Vlad thought he could do better, but Danny took his opinion with a grain of salt. When was the last time Vlad ever dated someone? As far as Danny knew, the answer was never. Jazz was excited and happy for them, though Danny could tell she would have both men crying if either of them hurt him. His parents were, understandably, hesitant about the whole thing. They knew Danny was bisexual, but they never considered the idea of their son being in a polyamory relationship. Danny didn't blame them for being uncertain about it when the three of them made the announcement after their talk outside after dinner. It was shaky for about a minute, but his parents thought Dash and Kwan were "good kids" and "just wanted to see Danny happy."

"Oh!" Danny almost jumped up when he saw Dash and Kwan enter through the front door. He held back, trying not to act too overly excited. It was this weird mix of being happy about a new relationship with this comfortable feeling like they had always been in a relationship. But they were still trying to figure out how this whole relationship would work. None of them had experience being in a polyamory relationship. But they were all willing to figure out how to make it work.

Sam and Tucker turned to see what got their friend so excited. "You invited them?" Sam's mouth pursed as she turned back to Danny. "Isn't this supposed to be one of our things? That we do, just us, every year?"

Danny fidgeted. "I thought it would be a good time for you to see that Dash and Kwan have changed. I don't want to be stuck choosing between you two and them." He pouted, pushing out his lower lip, and after a few minutes, Sam eventually sighed in defeat.

"Well, this is sure to be interesting," Tucker said, forcing an encouraging smile.

"Sorry we're so late," Kwan said when he and Dash reached them. "We got stuck with babysitting duty." He smiled as he placed a hand on the head of the little girl standing in front of him. "This is Katie. And that," he pointed to the girl pulling on Dash's arms, "is Zoe. When they heard we were going ice skating, they wouldn't stop begging until they could come too."

"Oh, that's fine!" Danny smiled then crouched down to be at eye level of the girls. "I'm Danny. And these are my friends Sam and Tucker."

"You have pretty hair," Zoe told Sam as she leaned back into Dash's legs.

"Thank you. Yours is very pretty too." Sam smiled, and Zoe hid her face in hands with a shy blush. "Would you like some help with your skates?" Both girls flocked over to Sam and sat down on the bench beside her.

Dash and Kwan sat down opposite to the girls to put on their own skates while Danny and Sam helped Zoe and Katie. Only the music playing outside in the rink broke the silence that fell over them. Danny chewed on his lip as he laced up Katie's skates. No one was yelling or fighting, yet, but it was still early. He hoped maybe the presence of the girls would keep everyone on their best behavior.

"Is that comfortable?" Danny looked up to Katie. "Not too tight? Not too loose?"

Katie wiggled her ankles then hopped to her feet. "Hm, feels all right."

"Let's skate! Let's skate! Let's skate!" Zoe practically ran for the door leading out to the rink.

"Whoa!" Kwan caught her around the waist before she could get too far. "Remember what we talked about before we came here? You can't just go running around while you're wearing skates."

"Well, they're probably going to fall when they get on the ice anyway," Dash said, scratching at the side of his neck.

Kwan frowned, shooting a glare at his friend. "That doesn't mean they should be running around _off_ the ice."

"Okay! I promise not to run. Can we skate now?"

Kwan sighed. "Okay. Let's go." He released her, and Zoe walked at a more sedate pace toward the door.

The rest of the group followed, stepping out into the chilly afternoon air. Danny zipped his coat up as he shivered the moment the air bit into his exposed flesh.

Tucker nudged him with an elbow as he grinned. "I bet they'd _love_ to warm you up later."

Danny shoved him lightly, a blush coloring his cheeks. "We aren't even at that point in our relationship. We literally only became an official thing a few nights ago."

The teasing grin faltered. "Wait. So you really _are_ dating?"

"I-" Danny's words failed him as he thought back over the last few minutes. "I didn't actually get to say it, did I?" He winced. "Um, surprise? Do you think Sam's going to kill me? Or them?"

"Dash probably." Tucker nodded, turning his gaze to the rink where Sam was skating backwards while holding onto Zoe's hands. "Yeah, she'll definitely kill Dash when you tell her."

"I want to believe you're joking." Danny hoped Sam would keep a cool head after he told her. "Can we just erase everything that happened in high school? That's not who they are now. Well, I mean, Kwan's always been nice, so that hasn't changed. But Dash, after we stopped butting heads, actually turned out to be a pretty cool guy."

"You wouldn't like him if he had stayed a jerk. I know that much." Tucker stepped onto the ice, and Danny followed him. "I'm mostly surprised this actually happened. I will, of course, be supportive and encouraging, you know that. But I never would have predicted _Dash_ returning your feelings." Tucker slowed to a stop, and Danny lifted his gaze to the sky, pretending to be oblivious to what probably just occurred to his friend. "Wait. You're dating _both_ of them? That's a thing now? And they're okay with it?"

"We're dating each other. We all like each other." Danny hunched up his shoulders, hoping this wouldn't completely blow his friend's mind. "So being a couple with all three of us in the relationship seemed like the logical next step."

"That - Okay. That's a lot to process." Tucker rubbed at his forehead. "I also didn't think Dash would be okay with you dating him _and_ his best friend. Okay. Sam might actually kill them."

"Don't say that. I know it seems like a weird situation, but I think this will really work out for the best for us." Danny rubbed at his neck. "Well, after we work out the kinks of how this all works. It's completely new for all of us."

"So - I mean, Kwan being bi or gay seems kind of likely. I don't know why. He just has that open to anything kind of vibe to him. But how long has Dash been into guys?"

"It seems to be a recent thing. He only really started noticing he found men attractive with Kwan and me."

"Oh, wow." Tucker's eyes widened as he glanced around the skating rink until he spotted Dash. "So, he's like a total virgin with men." When he looked back to Danny, he wore a sly smirk. "I hope you'll go easy on him."

Danny rolled his eyes as he shoved his friend for a second time. "I already said we aren't there yet. Yes, we all find each other attractive, but we aren't little horn balls that have to be sucking face and groping each other every second we're together. And with this being Dash's first time being in a relationship with men, I'm pretty sure he's going to be hesitant about taking things to _that_ level. Which is fine. When he's ready, we can talk about it."

Tucker patted a hand to Danny's shoulder. "You can always count on me if you need a friend to talk to." He considered for a moment. "But maybe not too many details where Dash is concerned."

"Okay, okay." Danny shook his head. "Let's get some skating done." He pushed off, skating away from the edge of the rink to join the others, and Tucker followed after him.

They skated around the rink, switching off helping the little girls with their skating. Zoe fell more than once, but she laughed it off and got right back up. Katie was more cautious, flailing her arms to help catch her balance. After about an hour, both of them got the hang of it and were zipping around the rink like pros. Danny smiled as Katie zoomed past him, weaving through the other people on the ice.

"Enjoying yourself?" Sam hooked her arm with his arm when she caught up to him.

"I'm having a blast." Danny skated a little ahead and turned around so he was skating backwards. "See? It's not so bad hanging out with Dash and Kwan."

"I suppose it could be worse." Sam frowned, casting a glance around the rink. "But now I'm wondering what exactly this is all about." She eyed Danny suspiciously. "You wouldn't have invited them along without some kind of reason behind it. And don't even think about beating around the bush." She narrowed her eyes.

"Uh, well-" Danny rubbed the back of his neck, looking away as he felt a flush creeping onto his cheeks. He noticed Dash was entertaining Katie and Zoe at the moment. Meanwhile, Kwan and Tucker seemed to be enjoying a conversation as they skated lazily around the rink. "I thought this would be a good time to tell you and Tucker that Dash, Kwan, and I are officially together now." He winced, waiting for shouting or slapping to occur.

Sam sighed, pinching at the bridge of her nose. "I don't even know how something like that works."

"We're sort of working on the details to that too." Danny bit his lip, still waiting for some kind of outburst. "But we've all been harboring feelings toward each other for a while now. I think with this arrangement, we'll all be happy."

"Something tells me it won't be that easy."

"What relationship is?" Danny cracked a small smirk, and Sam rolled her eyes. "So, you're not going to be angry about this?"

"This is a major shock." Sam frowned. "I mean, Dash and Kwan of all people?" One of her eyebrows lifted as if to say, "Come on. Really?" But then she sighed. "I'd get upset, but it's not like I can dictate who you see. Right? That's not a thing I can do?" She almost looked hopeful. When Danny shook his head, Sam snapped her fingers, or tried to. It wasn't easy snapping her fingers with gloves on. "Well, I tried." She shrugged. "I'm not fourteen anymore. I'm not going to go antagonize the people you like just because they were jerks to us in high school. Still surprised you can get along with them. Especially Dash. But I guess we've all changed with time. He hasn't been... too annoying so far today."

"They aren't the bullies they once were."

"I might be able to see that. Eventually. But the point I'm getting at is, it's your life, and if Dash and Kwan make you happy, well, then I wish for the best. But the second I hear that they've hurt you in any way, I'm going to find them and repay the favor." Sam's gaze turned deadly.

"Okay, okay!" Danny waved his hands. "I don't think they need the shovel talk from everyone. Especially not one right after the other. I'm pretty sure Jazz has them scared after her talk with them."

"Good. Then maybe they won't mess things up." Sam still looked like she was ready to snap a few bones until Zoe came by and grabbed hold of her hand. Sam's expression changed in the blink of the eye. She smiled brightly down at the girl.

"Do you have any children?" Katie asked curiously.

Sam shook her head. "Not yet."

"Why not? I bet you'd have pretty babies."

"Well, thank you. That's very nice of you. But," Sam tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, "well, I just haven't met the right person yet."

"You'll meet them some day." Katie grinned brightly.

"Aren't you sweet."

"That's what mommy says about Auntie Kim. But I don't think Auntie Kim is interested in getting married and having children."

"Well, some people aren't as interested in that stuff as others, but that's okay. There's nothing wrong with that."

Katie frowned as she considered that. "Are you sure?"

Sam nodded. "Yup. You can stay unmarried and without children if that's what makes you happy."

Katie tilted her head. "So do you want children?"

"One day maybe. But for right now, I'm enjoying my life and focusing on my job."

Dash skated up to them. "Hey, Zoe said she was getting a bit hungry, so we thought maybe now was a good time for a break, go inside to warm up, and grab a snack."

Danny nodded. "Sounds like a good plan." They circled back to the rink's exit then headed inside the building to join the others at the concession area to rest and eat. Danny didn't realize how tired his legs were feeling until he was sitting down at one of the tables. Despite his worries, looking around the table, Danny smiled to see everyone was having a good time. His friends and his boyfriends could get along, which was a huge relief to him.


	56. Chapter 56

Hanging out with Manson and Foley wouldn't be his first choice of things to do, but Dash supposed he could understand Fen- er, Danny wanting them to spend some time together to get to know each a little more. He really needed to work on calling him by his first name. Why was it so difficult for him? Habit kicked in before he thought about it and "Fenton" slipped out of his mouth before he could correct his thinking and say Danny's name. The first time Dash actually managed to say his first name naturally, Danny gawked at him like he grew a second head. Dash was tempted to make sure he hadn't.

Skating was probably a good choice for hanging out. It was nice and casual. They could talk while skating then break away to chat with someone else without it being too awkward. By the time they sat down to eat, they could hold a conversation without anyone yelling or starting a fight, though Manson still gave him death glares every once and a while.

"It feels good to be home!" Kwan sighed as they walked through the door into their apartment. "It feels like we haven't been back in a month."

"You always say that." Dash grinned as he gave his friend a small nudge.

"Yeah, but this time's different." Kwan walked farther into the apartment, dropping his luggage by the couch. "We left three single roommates, and we return as a couple. It blows my mind. I woke up in the middle night thinking I had dreamed the whole thing."

"I guess it will take some time to get used to it," F- Danny said, kicking the door closed behind him. "We've only been together officially for a little while. And this isn't the usual type of relationship." He frowned as he dumped his luggage near Kwan's. "I mean, how is the whole," he gestured awkwardly, "sex thing going to work? I've been with some crazy creatures - We're not talking about sex with merpeople again." He shot a look at Dash.

"I wasn't going to say anything." Dash held up his hands, though he was still curious. "But I guess with something like that, we can figure it out when we get to it."

"Then I guess we can put a pin in that particular topic for the moment?" Kwan suggested, and the others nodded agreement. They had a long flight back, and though holding a conversation throughout most of it helped Kwan relax, it clearly took a toll on him.

"Maybe we can go out and grab some food." Dash didn't feel much like cooking, and seeing the exhaustion on the other two men's faces, he doubted they wanted to cook either. A smile sneaked onto his face. "It could be like a first date for the three of us."

"Sounds good," Kwan agreed. "Just let's put away our bags first." He picked up his luggage and carried them off to his room. Once they all put their luggage away, they left the apartment and walked down the street from their building to figure out where they wanted to eat dinner.

"There's burgers," Danny suggested, pointing to the burger place they were passing.

"I'm not really feeling like burgers right now." Dash frowned at the bright neon sign.

"What do you feel like then?" Kwan asked, hugging his arms around himself. No snow had stuck here, but there was still a nasty, chilly bite in the air.

Dash shrugged. "I mean, if you both want burgers, it's cool. It's just," he raked a hand through his hair, "we had Nasty Burger before we left Amity Park. Kind of feel like having something different."

Danny shook his head. "That's fine. I was just throwing out a suggestion."

"I don't think we've done pizza in a while," Kwan said. "And Mama Agresta is always good." 

Dash's eyes widened. "Oh! Have we taken you there yet?" He turned to Danny, who thought for a moment then shook his head. "We have to go there then. They have some pizzas that sound a bit out there, but they're really good. They're always trying out new ideas too."

"Sure," Danny agreed with a smile. "Sounds like a great place."

They continued walking down the street until they reached the little pizzeria. It wasn't too busy, for a Friday evening, and they were able to get a table right away. It was a cozy little place, having that feeling like the owner was welcoming every customer into their family. The pictures on the wall weren't of anyone famous, but they were past owners within the family.

"Two pizzas should be good, right?" Kwan said, passing one of the menus to Danny.

"Yeah, I'm hungry." Danny laid the menu out before him on the table, scanning over the options. "And looking at this is just making me hungrier. All of these sound pretty good. I don't know if I can choose among them."

"We can always pick some our favorites, if you don't mind," Dash suggested.

"Yeah, sure."

"Oh, we have to get the agog primo then!" Kwan leaned over closer to Danny as he grinned. "That one's my favorite."

"All right. Then we'll also get," Dash glanced over the menu, "the green monster. Lots of green veggies sprinkled with sausage." They waved down one of the employees and put in their orders for the pizzas and their drinks. Dash's gaze followed the waitress as she walked away then snapped to Danny. "You know, now I'm wondering if-"

"No." Danny shook his head. "She's a normal human."

"Are you sure?" Dash frowned skeptically.

"Dash, not everyone you meet is going to secretly be some supernatural being." Kwan rolled his eyes.

"Although, there is a man, that works at that grocery store we go to, who is a tanuki. I caught sight of his tail one time before he realized the slip." Danny grinned, and Dash wasn't sure if he was being played with or if Danny thought it would be funny to leave him wondering just which of the grocery store employee it was.

The waitress popped by to drop off their drinks. "It'll be just a few more minutes."

Danny took a sip of his water. "So what exactly are Dash and Kwan like on a date?" He leaned on his folded arms. "Any little moves or anything you do?"

Dash frowned. "I," he scratched at his head, "don't think so. Back in high school, maybe. Mostly, it was that lean in close and pretend to be interested in everything they said. But at that time, being taller than most of the girls, it was kind of a great way to see a bit down their shirts, depending on the neckline."

"Dash!" Kwan scolded, kicking him under the table.

"What?" Dash rubbed at his shin. "We all know I wasn't exactly Mr. Upstanding in high school." He recalled some of the things he did in high school, what he said, how he acted, and it filled him with immense embarrassment. "I mostly played football, bullied the "losers," and tried to pick up women. And like I said before, I wasn't looking for a real relationship at that time. It was just hook up with as many girls as possible because that's what football players do. Or at least, that's what I thought was expected of me. Now, I'd smack my younger self for being an idiot if I could. I don't do anything like that anymore. I try to be more respectful of women now."

"Valerie and Paulina may have had a few words with him some time after high school," Kwan said.

"We were all kind of jerky idiots at some point." Danny shrugged. "I wasn't always that great with that sort of thing. I never tried to look down women's shirts when I was talking to them."

"Because you were so short back then," Dash teased.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yes, I was short. I had a decent growth spurt later though. Anyway, when I had that crush on Paulina, it wasn't like I liked her for who she really was. I was just crushing on her because she was hot. Valerie was probably the first time I liked a girl and wasn't basing it completely on her attractiveness."

"I guess that makes me feel a little better." But Dash was pretty sure he was worse about how he used to view women. Not that it was a contest, though. They had all grown, and their views of things matured for the better. "Okay. So we all know when I started to like men. And Kwan already said he realized it in high school. So when did you figure it out?"

"Well-"

"Sorry that took so long." The waitress placed their pizzas on the table.

"Oh, that's okay." Kwan smiled. "We didn't mind the wait."

She blushed a little. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"No, I think we're okay."

She nodded then left them alone to enjoy their meal.

"You were saying?" Dash prodded, but he smirked at Kwan, who rolled his eyes.

"Right." Danny grabbed a slice from each pizza and put them on his plate. "Well, it was the summer before college. Tuck, Sam, and I decided to go on a little road trip for about two month. We spent a week in this one little town. And," he flushed, "I met this guy. At first, it was just, 'oh, he's kind of cute,' but I didn't think we'd really see each other again. Then we bumped into each other, and he started flirting with me. I'd like to say I acted all cool about it, but I was a colossal dork. I guess he still thought I was pretty cute." He shrugged. "We didn't really do anything beyond a little hand holding and kissing. I was only there a week, and he got that I was just passing through and was still a little uncertain about doing anything more than kissing. So that was my brief summer fling that made me realize I liked boys too."

"That sounds pretty tame." Dash frowned. For some reason, he expected something a bit more juicy.

"Well, I guess it's not a blockbuster coming of age movie plot, but," Danny shrugged, "it just wasn't about sex with him. Which is fine. I may have regretted it later if we treated it like a weeklong make out session."

"Yeah, I guess I get that." Dash nodded. It wasn't like he hopped into bed or started having hot make out sessions just because he realized he was attracted to men now too. Honestly, when Danny brought up sex earlier, Dash felt a little twinge in his gut. He wasn't disgusted by the idea, but he was a little nervous about actually doing anything. What if he messed things up? What if they laughed at him? He had zero experience with this. Meanwhile, Dash now knew of two men Danny had relationships with, though only one turned sexual. How did he even compete with a merman?

The appearance of a young boy at Danny's side surprised them all. Dash almost jumped, expecting a ghost, maybe. But then a teenager jogged up to their table and gave them an apologetic look. When he recognized the teenager, Dash realized the boy couldn't be a ghost.

"Sorry," Jeremy said, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Cameron spotted you and wanted to come say hi." Now it made sense in Dash's head. He never actually got to meet Cameron while all the craziness happened. When Danny vanished and Kwan went rushing off, Dash was left behind to deal with their classes. Cameron looked happy and healthy, which was a relief after he nearly lost his soul.

"Um," Cameron looked down, playing with the zipper on his coat, "I just wanted to say sorry for everything that happened."

"Everyone makes mistakes," Danny told him gently. "I'm just glad we were able to do something to fix it."

"What do we say?" Jeremy said, nudging his brother forward a step.

"Thank you." Cameron lifted his gaze bashfully. "You saved my life."

"You're very welcome." Danny smiled. "But it wasn't just me." He pointed to Dash and Kwan. "They helped out."

"Like your sidekicks?" Cameron tilted his head with a curious look.

"No, no." Danny shook his head. "I would say they're more like my partners."

Dash may have puffed his chest out slightly with a proud smirk. His hero just said they were partners. He nearly blushed when he remembered they were partners in another sense of the word.

"Isn't it a bit late for you to be out grabbing some pizza?" Kwan frowned, going into teacher mode like he caught a student doing something suspicious.

"Oh, well, since it's New Years Eve, we're going to watch the ball drop while eating some pizza. It's the one night my little bro and sis get to stay up so late." Jeremy grinned as he ruffled his brother's hair. "Yeah, I could be out partying with friends, but I'll be graduating not too long from now. Got to share some of these moments with the family while I can."

"Ugh, don't be mushy!" Cameron complained, which earned him an eye roll from his brother.

"Oh, how is your sister?"

"Better. She got released from the hospital before Christmas, so we got to do that at home." Jeremy smiled, happy and relieved.

"That's great news!" Kwan grinned.

Jeremy's gaze dart among the three men. "Um, is there something going on here?" His hands shot into the air when Dash frowned slightly. "I swear I'm not intentionally trying to read auras."

"Oh! You've been working on the aura stuff?" Danny asked, interest sparking in his eyes, though Dash guessed he couldn't blame him. The whole necromancy thing was in the ballpark of crazy things in Danny's life. And being something new for him, it was only natural he wanted to learn a bit more about it, especially when it related to ghosts.

"Well, my mom still won't us look at the book, so I've just kind of been doing it on my own." Jeremy scratched at the back of his head, looking mildly embarrassed. "I'm sort of just going on instinct with it and how the auras feel to me. But I don't know how accurate I am with it. Except usually when things look cloudy or dark, the person either is in a bad mood or has some kind of internal conflict going on." He shrugged. "Um, so I wasn't trying to read any of you, like I said. It's just the three of you seem to have really bright auras at the moment. I think it's a good thing, but I don't know exactly what it means."

Dash glanced toward Kwan and Danny, both of whom looked mildly panicked. "Uh, well, we just had a good Christmas. I guess. Maybe it's just residual joy from that."

"Yeah." Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. Uh, okay. Well, we should probably get our pizzas. If we don't get back soon, our mom will probably get mad."

"Bye!" Cameron waved and smiled.

"Bye, Cameron. See you at school, Jeremy," said the three teachers.

"I totally forgot it was New Years Eve," Danny whispered when the two brothers walked away to pick up their pizzas. "I mean, I haven't really bothered to go out and celebrate it since college."

Kwan shrugged. "Maybe I'm just getting old, but I'm okay with just grabbing some beers on the way home and curling up on the couch to watch the countdown."

"One, you are not old." Dash pointed at Kwan with a firm glare. "And two, I think that's a perfectly reasonable way to spend the night."

"Agreed." Danny nodded. "On both points." With a plan of action decided, they continued to enjoy their dinner.


	57. Chapter 57

"How does this taste?" Danny held out a spoon for him.

Kwan looked up from checking over some papers before they returned to school. The break felt both long and much too short, and he almost couldn't believe tomorrow school would be starting up again. After trying the sauce, he nodded. "It tastes good."

Danny smiled then turned to walk back to the kitchen and continue working on their dinner. Dash, meanwhile, was busy chopping up vegetables so they could have a salad to go with their chicken pot pie soup, as Danny called it. Kwan smiled as he watched them make their dinner, but it faltered. He lowered his gaze back to his papers as a frown creased his face.

Their New Years Eve was spent on the couch while they watched the countdown to midnight. It came and went. They cheered, clinking their beer bottles together before taking a long gulp of it. It wasn't a bad way to spend the night. Kwan rather enjoyed it. But no one made even the slightest move to kiss one another. That was fine though. They weren't looking to rush into anything. Their final weekend before school began went much the same as any other weekend. It was feeling like they simply slapped the label of boyfriends on themselves but remained just roommates.

"Dinner should be ready," Danny announced as he reached up into the cupboard to grab some bowls.

Kwan stood, gathering up his papers to clear off the table. After he put them away in his room, he returned as Danny set full bowls of soup on the table. Dash balanced the smaller bowls of salad as he walked over to the couch. Entering the kitchen area, Kwan grabbed some glasses and filled them with water.

"Thanks!" Danny grabbed one of the glasses, and Kwan took the other two. They joined Dash on the couch, ready to enjoy their dinner.

"So I was thinking," Kwan said hesitantly as he poked at his salad. He glanced briefly to Dash and Danny, who waited patiently for him to continue. "I know we said we would put off sex talk until we came to it, but I feel like maybe we need to talk about it."

"Right now?" Dash's gaze darted to their dinners.

"I don't mean graphic talk about how we'll have sex." Kwan rolled his eyes, a grin threatening to spread onto his face. "Though we can do that talk later if you have any questions. What I meant was it feels like we're only boyfriends in name. I'm not saying we should be shoving each other up against walls and having passionate make out sessions and more. But shouldn't we be a little more intimate with each other? Kisses would be nice, but I'm also talking little things too. Holding hands, cuddling while watching television, maybe even just sharing a bed with each other. We should act a little more like we're in a relationship."

"I do see your point," Danny agreed, leaning back slightly as his brow furrowed in deep thought. "We said we're official a couple now, but it's like there's still that wall up, I think. No one wants to get hurt, and this relationship isn't exactly the norm for any of us." He chewed on his lip then glanced to Dash. "What are your feelings on this? Being intimate with men is a whole new world for you. How do you feel about kissing and other stuff?"

"Honestly?" Dash frowned as he scratched the side of his head. "Uncomfortable. I've dreamt about stuff, but dreaming and actually doing are two completely different things. I'm afraid I'm going to be doing stuff with either of you and you're going to laugh at me for doing something wrong."

"We're not going to laugh." Kwan reached across Danny to take hold of Dash's hand. "Like I said, we can talk about anything if you have any questions."

"Yeah." Danny nodded. "My first time, I was all clumsy about everything. I felt pretty embarrassed about it, but like anything else, it's a learning process. You had to figure things out when you first slept with a woman, right? Though, I guess that feels a little easier to figure out with all the sex media tends to throw at us."

"I guess that makes me feel a little better." Dash relaxed. "But it doesn't quite make all the nervousness go away."

"Well, we won't be pressuring you into anything." Kwan smiled, giving Dash's hand a little squeeze before pulling his hand away. "If ever anything gets too uncomfortable for you, we'll stop."

"A nervous Dash, who would have thought I'd get to see that?" Danny grinned then laughed when Dash tickled his side. "Okay. Okay!" He squirmed between his boyfriends. "Let's eat before our food gets cold."

The three of them returned to their dinner. The chicken pot pie soup was rather tasty, a nice comfort meal on a cold evening. Kwan hoped there would be leftovers to bring for lunch tomorrow. Sitting with his spoon still in his mouth, he glanced to Dash and Danny, who were eagerly finishing their meals. He slowly pulled the spoon from his mouth and placed in his half finished bowl.

"So about sleeping arrangements," Kwan ventured cautiously then bit his tongue when both his boyfriends paused in eating to look at him. He swallowed, feeling heat rising to his cheeks. "Since we're in a relationship now, should we start sharing a bed? Is it too soon for that? Are either of you comfortable making that move right now? Who's bed would we share?" He frowned. "If we start sharing, we'd need a bigger bed."

"Kwan," Dash caught his gaze, "breathe."

"I think slow is probably best," Danny said. "There's no need to really rush into anything." He considered for a moment. "Getting a bigger bed wouldn't be too bad an idea though. We wouldn't necessarily have to start sharing a bed right away, but then we'd have the bed for when we do want the sleep together. But who would get the bigger bed?"

"Kwan's room is the biggest. Not by much," Dash added before Kwan could argue, "but it still is. And you were the one to bring up the topic in the first place."

"Sounds good to me." Danny grinned at Kwan. "Anything else we should discuss, while we're talking about stuff?"

Kwan thought, tapping his spoon against the edge of the bowl. "No, I think that was all I had on my mind. Um, do either of you have anything you wanted to add?"

"I can't think of anything at the moment." Dash placed one bowl into the other. "I think this was a good start though. We don't need to dive into every serious topic all at once. Anything else we can bring up when it comes up." He stood to take his dishes to the sink.

"Oh, I do have one concern," Danny said, and Dash paused and turned back to face the couch. "Maybe it's not a big thing. But I feel like it might be best if we don't do anything to give away our relationship while at school. It seems to me like people there are pretty tolerant, but we can't really predict how parents might react if their students come home and tell them three of their teachers are dating each other."

Frowning, Kwan hadn't even thought about that. "I feel like a lot of parents might not be very understanding about it."

Danny nodded. "So we should act like we normally do at school. Try not to do anything that might be seen as something other than professional."

Dash made a face like he had a bad taste in his mouth. "I guess the same would have been true if any of our teachers were in a relationship like this. I can't imagine many of our students care that much about our love lives though. I'm pretty sure back when we were in high school, we had a lot going on that we thought was far more important than what our teachers did."

"I don't know." Danny's eyes narrowed slightly at Dash. "You did get my students pretty interested in seeing my old high school yearbook."

"I apologized for that."

"I just meant they aren't completely uninterested. And it wouldn't surprise me if some of the students had crushes on you two."

"You don't think there are any that have crushes on you?" Kwan gave him a disbelieving stare. "I am positive there are quite a few who are crushing on you."

"All I am saying is that if we don't want anyone at school to figure it out, we should be careful of how we act around each other." Danny shrugged then picked up his own dishes.

"It's a fair point." Kwan shoveled another spoonful into his mouth then finished off his salad. "I'd prefer if we didn't have to hide anything about our relationship, but it's better to play it safe." When he finished his dinner, he grabbed his dishes. Since Dash and Danny took care of cooking dinner, Kwan was on dish duty. He started washing the bowls while Danny took care of putting away the leftover soup.

After the clean up was finished, Kwan went to his room to finish going over a few things before they went back to school in the morning. Most of his things were already in order, but he liked to double check that everything was prepared. In his first year of teaching, he spent the winter holiday being lazy. When school started up again, he fumbled about the first day back. It got some laughs out of his students, but he was horribly embarrassed by it. After that experience, he was determined not to make that same mistake. When he was sure everything was in order, Kwan rejoined Dash and Danny on the couch.

"Grab a controller," Dash said when Kwan sat down next to him. "I'm getting crushed in this game."

"He really is," Danny said, chuckling as he looked up from his book. "I almost can't bear to watch it."

Dash rolled his eyes and gave Danny's foot a light kick. "You could have helped me."

"Last night of freedom before school starts up again." Danny lifted his book. "I want to get this finished before my nights are filled with being too tired to focus on it."

"You might not be getting crushed if you had taken the time to get better gear." Kwan smirked as he grabbed a second controller. "But you always like to just rush into boss battles without being prepared."

"Hey, I at least got better armor than I was using before," Dash argued.

"Still not the best armor you could have." Kwan squinted at Dash's character running around on the television screen. "Are you wearing the blue armor? That's not going to protect you against this boss. Didn't I tell you how to get that other armor before?"

"That was back in the summer. Then school started again, and I forgot where it was."

Kwan sighed, pretending to sound exasperated. "You should probably just let the boss kill you. Then we can go get better equipment and come back to beat it."

Dash groaned as the boss finally landed the killing strike on his character. "It took me so long to get there."

"Oh, don't be dramatic." Kwan bit his tongue, trying not to laugh at his friend. "We can get back there easily, and with the two of us, both geared up properly, that boss won't stand a chance."

Kwan lost track of how much time they spent playing the game. But at some point, Danny lost interest in his book, or perhaps he finished it, and decided to join them. With all three of them playing, the boss ended up being a piece of cake, especially since Danny chose to play a healer and made sure Dash, as a tank, didn't die while hammering away at the boss.

"Yes!" Dash cheered, jumping to his feet when the boss finally collapsed after being defeated. "Let's go after the next one."

"It's getting pretty late," Danny said, frowning at the clock. "And we'll have to wake up pretty early tomorrow. We should get some sleep."

"But we were finally making progress." Dash sighed, dropping back onto the couch in disappointment.

"We can play some more over the weekend." Kwan leaned forward to set the controller on the table. "And if we're all playing, the game will probably go a lot faster." He grinned as he slapped a hand to Dash's shoulder. "Maybe it won't take you another ten years to beat it after all."

"Oh, ha, ha." Dash rolled his eyes. "I probably would have finished it ages ago if school stuff didn't take up so much of my time."

"Well, our teams' seasons are pretty much over. That'll free up quite a bit of time." Danny stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "By the way," he folded his arms as he looked back to Dash and Kwan, "I told Tuck and Sam about us. Did you ever talk to your friends about us? Not that you necessarily _have_ to tell them. I was just," he looked away, his cheeks slightly pink, "curious. I wouldn't want to accidentally out either of you if your friends ever stopped by for a visit."

"Not yet." Dash winced. "Paulina and Valerie probably won't be so bad."

"Well, Val already knows I had feelings for Dash."

"She did?" Dash snapped his gaze to Kwan.

"Um, yeah?" Kwan shrank back slightly under Dash's gaze. Was that a little hint of betrayal in his blue eyes? "I needed to talk to someone about it or I probably would have gone crazy bottling it up for so long. Naturally, I couldn't talk to you about it since the feelings were _about_ you."

"I guess that makes sense," Dash mumbled, though he still seemed a bit hurt that Kwan couldn't go to him about it. "It just feels a little weird that there was something we couldn't talk about since we've always been pretty open about stuff."

"Sorry." Kwan felt guilty, but only a little. None of them were speaking honestly about their feelings for each other until recently, so he had no real reason to feel guilty about keeping quiet about his feelings to anyone other than Valerie. "But she should be pretty excited for us. Er, well, I'm not sure exactly how she'll react to the _three_ of us being in a relationship, but I think she should be happy. She's always told me that she just wanted me to be happy, so if this relationship does that, I think she'll support it."

"Is she going to give me the shovel talk too?" Dash frowned.

"She might. But she might not since you already know she'll hurt you if you hurt me." Kwan patted his friend on the back.

Danny grimaced. "I forgot about that. I already know what it's like having her come after me for herself. I bet it'll be a million times worse if it's for you."

"Yeah," Kwan bit his lip, "she can be pretty protective. I'll see if I can get her to tone it down when I tell her about us."

"You can try," Dash said, sounding doubtful. He saved the game before he got up to turn it off. "But I don't think she'll want to go easy, even on us."

"At least your safe from it for tonight." Kwan grinned as he stood. "We should all head to bed now and get some sleep for tomorrow." He hesitated then gave a quick peck of a kiss to Dash's cheek. Before he could grow too embarrassed by the act, he gave Danny a kiss on the cheek too. "Night! See you in the morning." His heart was pounding as he entered his bedroom.


	58. Chapter 58

Danny stared wide eyed at Dash after Kwan disappeared into his bedroom. Even though they were now officially a couple, the kiss still surprised him. It seemed silly when he thought about it. They were in a relationship. They should be able to kiss each other good night without it being a shock. Judging from the expression on Dash's face, the good night kiss caught him off guard too.

"You okay there?" Danny bit his lip to keep from grinning too much.

"Huh?" Dash shook his head. "Uh, yeah." He raked a hand through his hair. "I guess that just surprised me a bit. Who knew Kwan would be the bold one and be the first one to kiss us?" He laughed a little. "Well, on the cheek at least."

Danny considered as he stared at the door to Kwan's bedroom. "Well, he has been waiting a long time to kiss you." Then he glanced to Dash. "But I think we're both trying not to rush you too much. We're okay waiting for you to feel comfortable being with men. You only recently realized you liked guys. We get you won't want to immediately jump into kissing and touching and having sex right off the bat. So don't feel like you have to rush into doing anything. We're not going anywhere, and we can be patient."

"I appreciate that. But," Dash frowned with his hand still at the back of his neck, "I also feel like I'm going to keep backing away from it until I'm forced to deal with it. I want to kiss you. I want to kiss Kwan. But then I choke, and I can't bring myself to actually go through with doing it."

Danny thought maybe they were all doing that. It was easy to say they wanted to kiss the others, but sometimes acting on that desire wasn't necessarily easy, especially in a new relationship. They were still feeling out where they stood and how to proceed with their relationship.

After hesitating for another moment, Danny closed the distance between them. His tongue darted out, licking his suddenly dry lips as nervousness fluttered inside him. Then he leaned in, cupping Dash's cheek with one hand. At first, he thought this would be cool and romantic, somehow, but now he was feeling silly. It was too late to pull out of it though, so he pressed forward. Their lips touched in a gentle but firm pressure. Dash felt a little stiff against him. Then he relaxed slightly after his initial surprise over being kissed.

Danny pulled back, leaving the kiss short and chaste. He smiled, almost laughed, at the dopey expression left on Dash's face. "How are you feeling after that?"

"That was too quick. Let's try that one more time."

Danny rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. "I thought maybe a kiss would help ease some of that nervousness, or hesitancy, you have. And if you're asking for a second kiss, it sounds like maybe you're feeling a little more comfortable with it."

Dash folded his arms, staring at the floor as he thought. "Yeah, I suppose that did help a little. I don't think I'm ready for sex though. Not quite yet. I'll need to work up to be comfortable with that."

Danny nodded. "Completely understandable. We'll take this in baby steps." He placed a hand on Dash's shoulder as he smiled. "Like I said, Kwan and I can be patient until you're ready."

Dash smiled. "Thanks. Knowing that does make it feel easier. Less pressured."

It felt like they made some decent progress tonight. The lines of communication felt more open after Kwan brought up his concerns, breaking the silence they probably didn't realize was there until now.

Danny pulled back his hand, still smiling. "See you in the morning, Dash."

Dash bobbed his head. "Night, Danny."

It was still strange hearing his name, not Fenton but Danny, come out of Dash's mouth. Danny's smile brightened, and his heart felt like it was going to burst as he walked to his bedroom. Once the door was closed behind him, he touched his fingers to his lips, his cheeks burning. He just kissed Dash on the lips. He almost felt like he was going to melt into a puddle of ectoplasm. His gaze darted to his feet, just to make sure he wasn't. One leg had vanished, but he could still feel it tingling like it usually did when he turned invisible. He rubbed his hands over his face. He had it bad if his powers were acting up like this. Walking over to his bed, he flopped down onto it, burrowing his red face into his pillow. How did he get so lucky to have the two men he loved love him back? He fell asleep with happy thoughts in his head.

When morning came, Danny almost groaned with disappointment. The first day back to school after summer or a break was always the most difficult. The break gave him the chance to spend his days sleeping in and being lazy. Now he was back to waking up early to prepare for work. He half wanted to crawl deeper under his covers and fake being sick for a few extra days off. With a sigh, he dragged himself out of bed and got dressed. After a trip to the bathroom, he headed toward the kitchen.

"Mm, coffee." Danny happily accepted the mug held out to him. He raised it to his lips to sip the hot coffee, but when he felt a kiss to his cheek, he nearly dropped the mug.

"Sorry," Dash apologized as his cheeks grew faintly pink.

Danny shook his head. "I just wasn't expecting it." He smiled as he set down the mug. "But it was a nice surprise." He gave Dash a kiss on the cheek then walked over to where Kwan was putting together lunches for them. When Danny leaned in, Kwan turned his head, so instead of a quick peck on the cheek, they shared a kiss on the lips.

"Morning." Kwan grinned as he turned back to packing lunches. "Ready to go back to work?"

"I'd prefer a few more days off." Danny helped Dash with breakfast, cooking a batch of oatmeal for three people and a side of fresh fruit, slices apples and oranges with a few grapes thrown into the mix. When breakfast was ready, they all sat down to eat. Danny shoveled a spoonful of the oatmeal into his mouth and smiled. He definitely could get used to morning kisses. He imagined waking up next to sleeping Dash and Kwan would only make his mornings even better.

Of course, he knew things wouldn't always go smoothly. Every relationship had their hiccups, and they were bound to fight sometimes. But if they could keep to open communication, perhaps those fights could be resolved without too many harsh words thrown among them. He wanted this relationship to work out, and he knew Dash and Kwan felt the same way.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Dash nudged him with his foot before popping a grape into his mouth.

"I'm just happy." Danny smiled. "I like this. I - This is the kind of thing I want. This nice morning of waking up and eating breakfast, maybe sharing some good morning kisses, then off to work. This feels really natural with the three of us. Uh, well, I guess because we've been doing this since I moved in, though it wasn't always this smooth. But now," he shrugged, "I'm just really happy we're together."

"If you had told me this was how things would turn out back in high school, I never would have believed it." Dash shook his head with a small, crooked smile. "For one, I firmly believed that I was straight."

Kwan held up his glass of water. After he swallowed the bite of apple he was eating, he said, "Here's to all the crazy turns life throws at us but also the unexpected and wonderful surprises. And no matter what life decides to throw at us next, I couldn't be happier sharing it all with the two of you."

Danny and Dash picked up their own glasses and clinked them together. After they all gulped down their water, they finished their breakfasts. Then they quickly washed their dishes and left them out on a rack to dry. Danny pulled Kwan into a hug, squeezing him tight, then did the same to Dash.

"From Sawyer," Danny said, when they gave him confused looks. "Um," he scratched behind his ear, looking away, "I probably should have done that before, after she moved on, but I guess I felt a little awkward about it. I liked you both, but I didn't know how either of you might feel about me." His cheeks felt hot. "I might have feared hugging you would somehow give away my feelings."

Dash tugged Danny back into a hug with one arm. "The apartment does feel a little emptier without her. And Avery. They weren't here for that long, but it kind of feels like they lived with us for years."

Kwan joined in, wrapping his arms around both Danny and Dash. "I don't mean to break up this moment," he said after several beats of silence, "but we do have to leave soon if we want to be on time."

Dash groaned, and Danny couldn't help chuckling a little as they broke apart. As much as Danny would like to stay home and curl up with Dash and Kwan, they had young minds to educate. They grabbed their things then left the apartment to drive to the high school.

The past few months were a rollercoaster. When he first moved here to start a new job, he wasn't sure how things would turn out, especially with his bad luck in finding a decent apartment. He had his doubts about his luck changing when Kwan suggested he move in with them. But agreeing to live with them turned out to be the best decision he could have made. He couldn't even imagine how things might have gone if he said no or if Kwan never made the offer.

Nothing about living with Dash and Kwan turned out to be anything like Danny envisioned when he arrived at the door to their apartment with his things, much of which remained in storage though maybe now he would start to bring more of things to take up permanent residence at the apartment. The beginning was rocky, but after they opened up more to each other, and bribing with pumpkin bread didn't hurt, their relationship smoothed out. Danny began to see the former jocks and bullies in a new light, and he hoped the same was true for them.

Telling them about his ghost powers, training and working on ghost inventions with them, and eventually falling in love with them never crossed his mind that day in the teacher's lounge when they walked in on him searching for a new apartment. Who, other than Clockwork, could have seen how their lives would turn out all because he dared to take the chance and agree to move in with them?

As they reached the car, Danny pulled Dash then Kwan in for a quick kiss on the lips. "Sorry," he mumbled, looking away as embarrassment rose inside him. "I just thought I should get that out of my system before we get to school."

"You don't have to apologize." Dash rolled his eyes. Then he pulled Danny closer and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

"Yeah," Kwan agreed, his hand resting on Danny's shoulder as he smiled. "I don't think Dash and I are going to say no to a kiss." He leaned in and left a kiss on Danny's cheek.

Once they climbed into the car, Danny settled in the backseat, hoping he wasn't grinning too much like a dopey idiot. He couldn't help the happiness bubbling inside him, making his heart flutter in his chest. He just hoped he wouldn't give anything away once they reached the high school. Turning his gaze to stare at the window, he smiled at the passing scenery, feeling ready for whatever challenge life threw at him next.


End file.
